Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 3061

Tonight's special guest is Carissa Alexandra Daniel from Seattle, Washington, a child abuse survivor. Raised in a home filled with domestic violence, her escapes were reading and music. At the age of eleven she began a solo career as a singer, guitar player and songwriter. She is also a classically trained lyric soprano, and has acted in music theatre as well. It was after a music rehearsal that she was stalked and then overpowered by a criminal who held her prisoner for hours, raping and assaulting her. Eventually he left, and she survived the attack, unlike 3 of his other victims, who he brutally murdered in cold blood. Eventually he was executed for his crimes. Prior to the assault, she was on the verge of creating a successful career in Contemporary Christian music. A few months later, she was left disabled after a nearly-fatal car crash. She jokes that when those in the know in the music business told her it was just a matter of time till she had a hit, she had no idea it would come from a pickup hitting her at 45 miles an hour, shoving her little mustang forward and sideways into oncoming traffic. Eventually she started over and thought she would build a life, even if it wasn't the one she'd dreamed of, graduated from broadcast school and began working in radio. She met someone, but the man of her dreams was actually the creator of nightmares as she became the victim of domestic violence. When her miracle daughter was 3, they went underground after he threatened her life, and eventually they moved to a place where they knew no one. Wanting to help others, she was certified as a victim advocate, but because of disabilities, was unable to work in shelter. Because her ex would periodically go looking for them and harass them, she got online seeking support, and began to heal.