Strong At The Heart

Here’s one more way that survivors are finding to speak out about sexual assault and healing. Voices of Strength is an audio project by Haullie Free.

At her site, I was only able to access the audio trailer of the project, so I can’t comment on the individual stories she has collected. Listening to the trailer, hearing the voices of other survivors–of men and women and people with a wide range of accents and experiences–was very moving. The site has many goodies and, though Haullie is selling a variety of products, she is donating partial proceeds to RAINN.

online hotline

RAINN, btw, has started an online hotline. They already provide 24 hour phone referral for anyone dealing with rape and sexual assault issues. That number is 1-800-656-HOPE.

The online hotline can connect you “instant message” style with a live counselor. They say it is secure and completely confidential. Right now the online hotline is only active from 4-6 p.m. Eastern time (so if you are in the Western U. S. think 1-3 p.m). This is a pilot program for what they hope will become a 24 hour crisis counseling and referral service for people who prefer online communication.

Twenty years ago I wrote Promise Not to Tell, a novel for children about a girl who tries to tell about being molested. For years I kept one particular letter from a young reader on the wall above my computer, a reminder to myself of the reader at the other end of the book writing process.

Now I am hearing through this website. Web inquiries are a very different kind of reader response, but like letters in the old days, they let me know the impact of Strong at the Heart on readers.

It might be the speed and anonymity of email, maybe just better distribution of Strong, but I am hearing from a wider range of readers. Our conversations are much more intimate than reader letters I received in the past.

My correspondents include male and female survivors of different ages and stages in dealing with sexual abuse, some asking for advice on getting out of ongoing abuse, others wanting to share insights learned from years of their own work.

Therapists write to tell the ways that they’ve used the book with clients. Other writers and survivor activists find me through the site. And there are many people who write to ask me to speak in their community. Recently I heard from the organizer of my high school reunion who found me through google and discovered that we are both writers.