Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse | Incest
by Christina Enevoldsen When I was seven, I started classes in preparation for my First Communion. In the Catholic church, Communion is an expression of unity with Christ. Girls dress up like brides in white dresses and veils, symbolizing their purity. While planning for the day, I insisted to my mother that I couldn’t wear white. Normally, compliant and well-behaved,Read more
by Christina Enevoldsen Several years ago, my birthday was coming up and, after going through a very stressful and painful time, I was determined to have a great gift. I like choosing my own presents from my husband since the opportunities and possibilities of the hunt is half the fun. We’d just moved from Los Angeles to Arizona with onlyRead more
By Carissa Magras As any little girl, I loved my daddy very much. He was a high school athletic coach. He was funny. Everyone admired him and I was proud to call him dad. We even had our own little secret that no one else knew: From the time I was in Kindergarten up until my senior year, this manRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen I felt incredibly insecure about my healing process in the beginning. Most other survivors I knew, the ones really serious about healing, had hired therapists. I couldn’t afford one. I couldn’t even afford a haircut. I wondered how much I could heal without guidance and support from a professional. Whatever progress I made, would it be consideredRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen I started writing publicly about my childhood sexual abuse over 9 years ago. I jumped in with a lot of passion but without much knowledge of what I was jumping into. I only thought about how freeing it was to speak the truth and how much I wanted to validate other survivors. Writing about my healing processRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen I knew it wasn’t the wisest decision to meet with my mother after seven years of no contact. The time without her has been the happiest of my life—despite being sued by my parents, four months of being homeless, suffering a miscarriage, the death of my father, all while healing from the wounds of my childhood abuse.Read more
by Christina Enevoldsen I never expected to see my mother again. I hadn’t seen her in seven years, other than in a court room, where she sat on the opposing side. She was there in support of my ex-husband while he was being sentenced to fifteen years in prison for sexually abusing my daughter, Bethany. When my parents sued meRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen This past week in the survivor community on Facebook, an abuse advocate was exposed as an abuser. It caused an uproar, with some siding with his victims and many (including other advocates) supporting him. Like all abusers, this advocate has groomed this community to see him as a hero, not as the abuser he is. He hasRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen When I was sued by my parents for exposing the sexual abuse that was perpetrated on me by my father, my lawyer asked me a question: “How do you if know your memories of sexual abuse are real?” He was defending me against charges of defamation of character and intentional infliction of emotional distress so that wasRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen As much support and love as there is in the community of survivors that gather online, there is a topic that seems to divide us. I’ve rarely witnessed discussion topics that become as hostile as the issue of forgiveness. It’s easy to understand why there would be so much disagreement considering that there are so many definitionsRead more