I've heard that abuse, whether it be sexual, verbal, emotional or physical, never goes away.  It may get better over time, but the effects can resurface at a moment’s notice.  It’s never the way that it’s depicted in television shows or made for cable TV movies.  In th...

When I was thirteen years old, I was molested by three different men who used three different methods to groom me into silence.  The first man gained my trust by inserting himself into the role of a father figure; the second used his authority as a teacher to groom me...

When I first emerged on the literary scene in 2011, I quickly learned that there were opportunist hidden around every corner.  People that were watching you; some hoping that you would fail...and others hoping that you wouldn't so that they could hang on to your coat t...

I met Jimmy when I was thirteen years old.  He was the so-called boyfriend of a girl that I had become enamored with when I was in the eighth grade.  I referred to him by a different name in my book, “Groomed.”  But his real name was Jimmy.

It’s important to a...

I normally don’t write about politics in this forum.  I always try to reference topics that address issues of mental health that deal with the aftermath of abuse.  We all know that abuse occurs in many forms and one of the forms that I want to address is what is occurr...

I joined a writer’s group today.  It wasn’t deliberate or even intentional.  I listened to the various writers carefully, impressed as they read from their computer’s or printed pages.  And when it was my turn to read, I read from my last entry in When your father is m...

I found myself thinking about my father this morning.  I woke up with him on the forefront of my mind for no apparent reason…and I smiled despite the pain that he unwittingly left behind.  He had no idea the emotional damage he left in not playing the role that had bee...

I honestly didn’t know that I was depressed.  I had no idea.  I moved through life looking at things through a negative lens.  I would drink liquor daily.  I called it having my "regular cocktail after work" and to be damned with anything or anyone that stood between m...

After writing “Groomed” I took a long hard look at my life.  You know they say that hindsight is always 20/20.  I know that what happened to me was awful.  It was awful in the sense that the adult men that took away the innocence of my youth had no regard for my mental...

When I was thirteen years old, I was abused by three different men.  The abuse happened back to back; separated by several months or weeks before the next assault occurred. I wasn't scared when these events took place.  In some of the assaults, I felt as if I were a wi...