Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my family for allowing me to make public the truth of the sexual abuse perpetrated on my sisters and me by our father. I especially want to thank my own children, Drew and Antoine Damron and Justin Tagle (Cecile’s son–and mine too) for understanding me when my own voice faltered while I was raising them—and even now! I hope that my books can help their children from any abuse as well.

I would like to thank my long-time therapist, Dr. Tara Robbins, without whom I would not be alive and mentally healthy today. She has traveled on this journey with me for more than twenty years, supporting me when I was in my darkest moments. I would also like to thank Dr. Dwight Tolliver for teaching me “how to move the rock,” and my current therapist, Dr. Tim Westfeldt, who has given me the ability to find my inner strength and to become whole again. Thanks also to Joel Turgesen, for helping me find the courage to face my past during EMDR therapy.

I would like to thank Dr. Tara Robbins, Dr. Thomas Dakoske, Dr. Carole Lieberman, Dr. Bryan Bruns, and Dr Laurie Fortin for taking so much of their precious time to provide me with their candid and relevant feedback and for reviewing the books to ensure that I was following all appropriate best practices of psychology. I would also like to thank Dr. David Reynaldo and Dr. Shauna Oeth for taking the time to provide me feedback on the book as well.

I am so grateful for my friends and colleagues who participated in my focus groups and gave me feedback all along the way to publishing these books, especially those with similar backgrounds who are successful and thriving survivors: Freda Ramey, MA, Kathie Monroy, MA, Deborah Cox, MA, Bettina Kehrle, M.D., and Tiffany Strause.

I would like to thank Annah Wootten for seeing and illustrating my characters so perfectly. Her artwork has brought them to life.

Thanks to Kurt Fernstrom, my patent agent, for hanging in there with me during the eight year process to patent my product.

Thanks to all of the brave adults who are willing to share their survival stories as they, too, find their voices.

And lastly, I would like to thank my mother for standing by me during this entire process, never blaming me for making public this travesty of childhood sexual abuse and for allowing me to be forthcoming about my own childhood trauma.