After reviewing my last blog entries I was tempted to go back and fix all the spelling mistakes, but then I decided not to. I feel like it actually speaks to my desire for this blog to not be about perfection. That it is a place where all can come just as they are- with all their imperfections-including myself.

One of my very favorite books is The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox. You may find me quoting from his book often. He said,

"The Saviors message is not just Come unto me -but come as you are. He doesn’t say 'Go get your act together and then come back when you fit the mold.' He says in essence Lets start right where you are and go from there. Christ doesn’t wait to offer blessings until our families all look like the happy groups whose pictures appear in the Ensign magazine or tv commercials. He doesn't require us to fit any mold before he is willing to mold us.”

I wanted to write a little bit more of how I envision this blog will work. I envision that many posts will be resources that we have used over the years and thoughts we have had as we have worked with adult survivors of sexual abuse. (I never liked the word survivors as it connotes an image to me of barely treading water. But I know that is often how many abused have felt. I like to believe that with healing- they can be adult "THRIVERS".)

I will look to other professionals for guest blogs and blogs from victims who want to share success in their healing. Please feel free to email me with things you would like to add to the blog. I will be adding resources along the way and I hope that people will feel comfortable making comments. A few quick statistics I feel are important to think about...
Adult retrospective studies show that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men were sexually abused before the age of 18 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006). The primary reason that the public is not sufficiently aware of child sexual abuse as a problem is that 73% of child victims do not tell anyone about the abuse for at least a year. 45% of victims do not tell anyone for at least 5 years. Some never disclose (Smith et al., 2000; Broman-Fulks et al., 2007).The real prevalence of child sexual abuse is not known because so many victims do not disclose or report the abuse.

I hope that this blog can help the numbers of those who do disclose -change. We hope to do away with the shame and secrecy behind childhood sexual abuse and instead help people feel empowered. It is important to note that we do not see this as a substitute for counseling or professional help.