Saturday, September 19, 2009

Recovery Validated

Hi. I am back from our 10 day vacation to visit our daughter and her family. I will write more in a future article. I just have a short amount of time to post this article since I have a neice and her family arriving around 8:00 tonight from Texas for a short visit. I read this while on our vacation and liked what it said.

Daybreak, Meditations For Women Survivors Of Sexual Abuse written by Maureen Brady, HarperCollins ed., Hazelden Meditation Series, 1991, September 8 page:

"Advice
No matter how great or small I think are the strides I have made in my recovery, they are made apparent and validated each time I pass my hope on to others.

Incest survivors experiences, and the gigantic long-term effects of those experiences, have long been denied and silenced in our culture, even in psychological circles. Few hands were there to reach out to us. Even when we found the courage to speak, we might have met with an antagonistic response. Still, we are fortunate to be living now in a time when large numbers of incest survivors are speaking up and documenting their experiences.

As I benefit from being heard by others, I begin to recognise my responsibility to share my experience and hope with those who are even newer to breaking silence than I am. I will receive the gift of hearing my own hope spoken aloud. To others I will give the gift of connection, of knowing we do not have to do this alone. I will be part of the growing volume of voices that may save some child in the future from being abused."

This states why I write about my own incest experiences, why I am revisiting all the pain from my past. We, as survivors, have to reach out and help each other. We all benefit from the support.
Patricia

2 comments:

VICKI IN AZ said...

Amazing. You really know how to say it so well. Thank you for the reminder of why we do this. I really needed this, I have been feeling vulnerable and I needed a shot of courage.
You are Loved!

Patricia Singleton said...

Vicki, thank you and you are welcome. Maureen Brady is the one who said it so well for me this time. When I write my own book, I am thinking of asking Maureen if I can use this quote in my introduction. I love how it explains my need to share with others.