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Saprea > Survivor Stories > I Am Going in the Right Direction Toward Healing

SURVIVOR STORIES

I Am Going in the Right Direction Toward Healing

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One of the most difficult things I’ve experienced is talking about my feelings and emotions freely without being judge or interrupted. 

As a child, I was sexually abused. Recognizing it and accepting that I am a survivor was not an easy task. I was abused on three different occasions by three different perpetrators before my adolescence. Many years later, when I was about 35 years old, I was kidnapped by a person I knew well, and he attempted to abuse me sexually. I felt completely broken, shattered into little pieces to the point that I felt it was impossible to piece myself back together. 

Attending the Saprea Retreat changed my life and perspective of how I thought about myself. It helped me understand why I behaved and reacted to different situations and people in my life during all those years. Before embarking on this journey I felt incomplete, empty, and forgotten, but during the retreat, I met several wonderful women who went through the same path of abuse and listening to their testimonials and how they went through similar situations gave me a sense of relief. Having my feelings and emotions finally understood by others was incredible and amazing. Now I feel stronger and more confident, going in the right direction toward healing that I never considered possible. 

I am uniquely broken, but there’s beauty in the broken; and now I know I can help others by using my voice to speak out and let them know there is hope, to tell them that they are enough, worthy of love and respect, and that WE are not alone. 

-Maria, Survivor