So many people have commented about this Facebook album photo from our recent wedding, I decided to post it here. I could write about it, but I'm going to let the visual do the talking. Photo by Bill Bangham; Husband 2.0 and my daughter Grace.
GRACE GOAD | AUTISM ART:
Shimai Gallery of Contemporary Craft
8400 Highway 100, Nashville, Tenn.
(Little cottage in the far corner of the Loveless Cafe complex.)
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FROM HEARTACHE TO HOPE
From Heartache to Hope: middle tennessee families living with autism, a book by Leisa A. Hammett & photographer Rebekah Pope. Click here for more info plus ordering details.
I love these two people!
We love you!
Hey everyone! First off, HAWT DAMN, I love you guys! Thank you for reaindg this post I know it’s not a dinner-friendly topic, but it’s one that needs to be discussed.PhillyInJA: I love you and I’m so sorry. I’m keeping you in my thoughts and thank YOU for speaking out as well. I know the feeling of locking yourself up and then feeling the need to burst out of the silence. It’s like a sick game we play with ourselves, and I did it for years. Sometimes when we open up, it backfires; people either don’t give a shit or they put you, your feelings and your experience under a microscope, which can be maddening. You feel under attack, not trusted, not believed, and I think that is part of what keeps us silent. But look at you, you opened up! I know that it is not easy, and I really appreciate your doing so, as I’m sure everyone else on here does, too! *fist bump and big hugs* Aquagranny911: So noted. While there are many options for recovery, EMDR is what finally worked for me.Jo: Point taken, but what I’m talking about is someone remaining in a state of victimhood for the rest of their lives, and I do not want anyone to do that to themselves. I want victims to become survivors as quickly as possible, which usually takes YEARS (it took me 10 + years). Getting out of victimhood is not easy, staying in it is. When someone other than a counselor tells a victim that the abuse they endured is not his or her fault, it’s acknowledgement and validation of his or her suffering. That’s great, they need that, but they need the next step more, which is getting professional help. The counselors I saw didn’t coddle me. In therapy, one has to come to terms with things they do not want to, they will have to hear and say things that they do not want to, but if they stick with it, they will come out of it stronger.Nabsentia23 I am so sorry you had abusive parents. And I am glad you decided to actively seek help in undoing the damage they did to you. Your comments show that your counseling worked VERY well, there is a lot of wisdom in them. Verbal and psychological abuse (oh hell, any form of abuse, really) is so tricky to unravel to a point of where you start to feel comfortable in your own skin again. People can tear you apart just with words, and it’s such a horrible violation of love and trust when your parents are the ones being cruel to you. Major kudos to you for speaking up about it.