A recent trend
that I not only support but also applaud are the people starting hash tags
#WhyIStay and #WhyILeft to bring awareness to the overwhelming reports of
Domestic Violence. The epidemic of abuse
is a truth that many of us face in our daily lives and continue to be ashamed
of. The topic itself drug out into the
light and out of the darkness following news reports about NFL player Ray Rice
who assaulted his then fiancee, now wife Janay Rice.
As I struggle to
pen my own novel titled When Angels Bleed,
stories inspired by actual events within my own life I am relieved to see
celebrities such as Meredith Viera, Terry Crews and Evelyn Lozada speak out
about their own experiences with Domestic Violence.
Abuse within any
kind of relationship is unacceptable but unfortunately to some degree
unstoppable. As I reflect on my own
childhood and the verbal and physical abuse I witnessed in my own home I can’t
help but to want to start a trending hash tag of my own, #NeverForget.
The affect that
results from witnessing a mother, father, sibling or even a grandparent suffer
abuse at the hands of another member of the family, another loved one is
devastating. The long-term psychological
effects cannot be undone by giving money, gifts or apologies. We suffer the same forms of Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder that would occur in a member of the military post war. As an adult who has bear witness, experienced
and survived thru the trauma of domestic violence I can state with all
certainty that I will never forget and I will never be the same.
