Listen Up!
Last week, I sat in a courtroom with a young friend of mine who testified about the years of sexual abuse she endured from her father. She was brave and strong and told her truth and her father was found guilty and will be sentenced in June. While I sat and listened to her story, I wondered if I would have been able to do the same. She is mere 17 years old while I am 44 and I still don't think I have the bravery that she does. I have told some of my story but not all of it, I don't know if I ever will. When I first reported my abuse as a child I wasn't believed. When my "parents" found out I had told family secrets I received an extra dose of a beating. As I got older and began to drink and use drugs, my stories of abuse were met with, "well, she's a drunk...she's an addict...she's crazy." Maybe I was all those things but that didn't change the fact that I was a victim of abuse. Here's the thing about growing up in a small town (and I