No Working Title by Dr. John A. King

For sexual abuse/sexual assault awareness month, I got a chance to read No Working Title: A Life in Progress by Dr. John A. King and was deeply moved by his story. It reminded me of my own. I was abused. I have friends and family who were abused. I think of their stories, and all the ones living that nightmare right now. In his poem Childhood, Dr. John A. King says:

Childhood

Violently shattered

Shards of innocence scattered

Ripples on a pond

Never to return

As accurate as that is, know that there’s hope in, through, and on the other side of abuse. There’s purpose for the broken pieces, they can be put to good use. To those who are still in it, to those who are struggling because of it, as isolating as it might feel, hear me when I say you’re not alone. ‘Cause you’re not alone.