Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN - 753

Tonight's special guest is Mark Riser from Vancouver, BC, Canada of Made to Soar. As we meet Mark, he's already completed the very first leg of a cross-country motorcycle journey, a tour during which he plans to meet other childhood sexual abuse survivors. He wants to help other survivors live their dreams, and to move from fear, shame and hiding to the life they're truly capable of. As he says, "I want to help you rise again." Wherever he goes he plans to ask, "What has childhood sexual abuse cost you and your family? What do you dream of doing? How can I help you live your dreams?" And then he'll do his best to help survivors go on the adventure of living their dreams. Mark says, "Along the way, I hope to help some of my fellow survivors tell your stories (with your informed consent), to produce an amazing video series, and to raise awareness of both the enormous cost of childhood sexual abuse and the potential all of us have to rise triumphantly out of our difficult past." Mark explains, "When I confronted my parents about their abuse of me, my world was turned upside down. It was a heavy conversation, full of denial and shame. My dad said “you must be mistaken”. My mom turned around and called me a pedophile, and started blaming gays and the fact that I'm gay." After years of intense therapy of various types, Mark has a new dream, to help other survivors live their dreams. "To give hope and purpose to the pain, to go and live the life we are capable of," he says, "even with the challenges we’ve faced."