by Darlene Barriere
(Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada)
Each year, there are any number of children in our local woman's shelter here in Kamloops. As a child, I was never in a shelter, but I can tell you, there were many times that my mother and we five kids should have been. I know all too well what these children in the shelters are dealing with. Christmas for us was usually a time of wonderment and excitement, but that wonderment and excitement was always fused with fear, apprehension and the predictably unpredictable hair-trigger temper of my father. It is this understanding that drives me to put a well-deserved smile on the faces of the children who have to call the shelter their home for the holidays.
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From Victim to Victory
a memoir
How I got over the devastating effects of child abuse and moved on with my life
Jan 30, 18 01:13 PM
There was a time and space I didn’t think about you, or your abuse. Where when I looked back at my life, I only saw normal things, a normal childhood.
Jan 29, 18 11:33 AM
A heartfelt letter by a former classmate that speaks to bullying and regrets. You'll find it on my Facebook group. I hope you'll join and get in on the discussion.
Jan 29, 18 11:00 AM
I was sexually abused by my father from age 6 to 13, which stopped when I started talking about it during the day. The teenage brother of my best friend