Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1186

Tonight's special guest is Dody Johnson from Minnesota, a child abuse survivor, author and activist who describes her self as speaking out for children who can't speak out for themselves. Her second book, "Fugue," which will be released later this year, will show what the healing journey looks like and what to expect. "My hope," Dody writes, "is that people will enter into healing after they see what that road looks like and the wonderful rewards that come with a restored life." Dody knows the subject well. "Growing up in my violent home I was fortunate that I repressed my bad memories and was able to disappear at times. I was unfortunate that confusion, distrust and extreme low self-esteem became my reality." She goes on, "At the age of forty-five those repressed memories started to surface. I immediately went into shock called shutdown mode and had to find help in order to function again. In therapy I was told if I did the hard work to heal, my life could be of better quality than of someone who was never abused and that became my goal. I wanted that quality life." Dody points out that every year three million children are harmed in their homes. Some will repress their bad memories and some will disappear into a fugue state as needed. "The children who are not helped while living in their violent homes when they are still young will suffer a lifetime from their abuses," Dody writes. While there's no cure for growing up in a violent home, there is life changing healing. And Dody's on a mission. "By stopping the silence of child abuse and working towards its prevention," she says, "we offer a strong, healthy future for our little ones."