I am everything the darkness could not kill.

“no recovery from trauma is possible without attending to issues of safety, care for the self, reparative connections to other human beings, and a…

— Janina Fisher

“I'm still not sure if I was a victim or not... and if I was, who was my abuser?”

— Eskay Teel

“In spite of the horror, in spite of the tragedy, in spite of the weeks of sleepless nights, I'm finally alive. I'm not pretending.…

— Ellen Bass

“Survivors of abuse show us the strength of their personal spirit every time they smile.”

— Jeanne McElvaney

“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is…

— Judith Lewis Herman

“The more I focus my time and energy on withstanding a real life, I am able to overcome and come out victorious.”

— Patricia Dsouza

“The capacity for dissociation enables the young child to exercise their innate life-sustaining need for attachment in spite of the fact that principal attachment…

— Warwick Middleton

“One of the reasons a survivor finds it so difficult to see herself as a victim is that she has been blamed repeatedly for…

— Diane Langberg

“There is a moment in our healing journey when our denial crumbles; we realize our experience and it's continued effects on us won't "just…

— Jeanne McElvaney

“Dissociated trauma memories don't reveal themselves like ordinary memories. Like pieces of a puzzle, they escape the primitive part of our brain where the…

— Jeanne McElvaney

“When you accept things as they are, you allow yourself to make choices, that will help create the change you seek.”

— Patricia Dsouza

“There came a time in my life when I had to admit to myself that I have some very clear narcissistic tendencies. Ironically, it…

— Beverly Engel

“The experience of childhood sexual abuse leaves some survivors with a high tolerance for pain. Dysfunctional environments require endurance and thick skin. Child survivors…

— Rosenna Bakari

“Stuffing our memories might become familiar over the years, but it requires a mental vigilance that separates us from our inner world. It's building…

— Jeanne McElvaney

“Kadyn was tearing down walls faster than I could build them. I knew what to expect from men who hit… men who threatened, manipulated,…

— K.S. Ruff