Some people say that, if someone has suffered child sexual abuse, they are damaged for life, or it's a life sentence, or they have suffered irreparable harm.It may be true in one sense, but it denies the incredible capacity and potential that we have as...
I was busy tying up loose ends today and packing for another trip to share my story. As I packed, I listened to an old interview, recorded when I was struggling with severe migraines.The interviewer wanted me to tell how I made it in my...
My doctor drew this graph for me. I thought you might relate. Recovery from any kind of stress or trauma is really the same. Once free from abuse, we think it will be easy, but that's not usually the case.We are fearfully and wonderfully made...
When I was a small child, I was sexually abused. Most of the time, it happened in a barn, at the edge of my grandmother's property. It started in the house though. It started with my grandmother and aunt preparing us with fear, manipulation and...
There are more than seven risk factors, but I just want to elaborate on these for American families. In third world countries the main risk for child sex trafficking is family poverty, which affects the US too, but in different ways.Poverty is a problem in...
The Church at large, meaning all the churches in a general way, have failed our young people. Too many churches send young people out in the world after a game, a song, and a condensed Bible story. They are not throughly equipped, as Scriptures admonish.I've...
Most of you have heard about the horrors of Planned Parenthood. I first learned about the real Planned Parenthood in the late 1980s. In 1980, I was introduced to them as a thirteen year old girl. I was slow to develop, so I really looked...
I was talking to my doctor yesterday and he asked if I’d had an injury that would cause my neck pain. I told him that I fought a rapist and my neck was hurt in the process. The rapist was one of the pimps that...
After years of abuse and many harrowing experiences, my adrenaline had worked over time, my coping skills were few and my ability to function in a structured environment was very limited.Our young family life was tumultuous. We moved every year, sometimes more than once in...
Education and awareness about child abuse and child sexual abuse is s good thing. Helping people spot the signs of abuse, broach the subject with dignity, ask the right questions, and mostly handle suspected or acknowledged abuse victims with compassion and wisdom is of utmost...