More bad news? We don’t need it, do we? Abuse, though. That always needs to see the cleansing light of day. I published an essay about a football coach at the boarding school I attended many years ago who used his power to, literally, try to get into my young pants. He nearly succeeded. I summoned something from somewhere to stop him.
Richard, thanks for writing this. I think we all carry shame of one kind or another. My husband's sister was abused by a boarding school coach and nearly 50 years later, several of the girls came forward. Each was given a huge six-figure settlement and paid counseling sessions. I doubt that erases the shame, but it eases the soul. Good thing the bastard coach is dead or he'd be in jail. Best wishes to you, good man.
"The cleansing light of day." Exactly. Pinning the facts down on paper is healing in and of itself, but having the courage to call out the culprits is even more so. Thank you for your honesty---always.
Thank you for sharing this, Richard. The truth can really set us all free. Trite/true. The power to help others release their shame by sharing our stories is immeasurable. Thank you for using your powers of storytelling to open the channel for healing.
Happened to me when I was 12 and because I was young enough to believe the man when he told me I must never tell anyone what I had done (WHAT I HAD DONE?!) or they would know what a dirty, disgusting girl I was.... For 30 years I believed that, and stayed silent, and only the adoption of my baby daughter compelled me to seek a therapist and work through it all. I wonder, still, who I might have been if I hadn't stayed silent. It is for certain I would have made other choices than the ones that nearly killed me (because, after all, I didn't deserve any better treatment anyway....) But the little girl rose up and looked at HER little girl and said no, never ever, not for my girl. No shame. No silence. No matter what.
Richard, thanks for writing this. I think we all carry shame of one kind or another. My husband's sister was abused by a boarding school coach and nearly 50 years later, several of the girls came forward. Each was given a huge six-figure settlement and paid counseling sessions. I doubt that erases the shame, but it eases the soul. Good thing the bastard coach is dead or he'd be in jail. Best wishes to you, good man.
"The cleansing light of day." Exactly. Pinning the facts down on paper is healing in and of itself, but having the courage to call out the culprits is even more so. Thank you for your honesty---always.
Thank you for sharing this, Richard. The truth can really set us all free. Trite/true. The power to help others release their shame by sharing our stories is immeasurable. Thank you for using your powers of storytelling to open the channel for healing.
Happened to me when I was 12 and because I was young enough to believe the man when he told me I must never tell anyone what I had done (WHAT I HAD DONE?!) or they would know what a dirty, disgusting girl I was.... For 30 years I believed that, and stayed silent, and only the adoption of my baby daughter compelled me to seek a therapist and work through it all. I wonder, still, who I might have been if I hadn't stayed silent. It is for certain I would have made other choices than the ones that nearly killed me (because, after all, I didn't deserve any better treatment anyway....) But the little girl rose up and looked at HER little girl and said no, never ever, not for my girl. No shame. No silence. No matter what.
I trust no one in the agency world ventured