I’m celebrating a milestone in my book journey—a journey that has reminded me that every experience, accomplishment, and moment of growth is part of a path, not a destination.
Initially, I aimed to write a book quickly and move forward as a published author. But something unexpected happened: I felt a deep inner completeness when I became a co-author of Written in Her Own Words. In that book, I used my voice to share my story of child sexual abuse. (It will launch in September 2025).
It is within our pain that strength, resilience, and empowerment reside.
Child sexual abuse is a debilitating public health crisis. As a child who was sexually abused, I didn’t have the words to explain what happened to me. I know a little girl whose demeanor changed when she was in the third grade. She loved school and her friends. Every day, she looked forward to playing on the playground, hugging her friends before climbing onto the merry-go-round.
But one day, everything changed.
She didn’t go to the playground. She forgot her lunch. She walked slowly to class, dragging her feet, and went straight to her desk. Her teacher, confused by the shift in her behavior, gently asked, “What’s the matter?” But the little girl couldn’t speak. She didn’t have the language to describe what had happened to her at nine years old.
It is never the child’s fault when abuse occurs.
The perpetrator is often someone who holds power—someone who should have protected her. That person was given the responsibility to safeguard her innocence, not manipulate her pure mind. But no one helped that little girl. She endured years of sexual and emotional abuse.
Later in life, that little girl—now an adult—sought healing. She began to advocate for child sexual abuse prevention and help survivors find resources for healing. Her pain became a source of strength and resilience. Helping others gave meaning to the suffering. It became less about her and more about ending the silence and the suffering of child sexual abuse.
So how do we end the silence?
We speak—loud and clear—about the dynamics of pain. We fight for survivors’ voices to be heard. We change laws to ensure perpetrators are prosecuted. Pain becomes a catalyst for change.
That little girl was me.
I am grateful for my pain journey. It has opened my eyes to the truth: I was never damaged. The sweet nature I was born with never left me. It was my strength all along.
Kindness and compassion are essential in the healing process. When we’ve suffered pain, we can look into the eyes of other survivors and physically feel their pain. In that moment, we are forever connected—committed to making a difference in our own lives and in the lives of others.
“Memo to Your Soul” will launch in early 2026
