Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2741

Tonight's special guest is Holly Davy from Saginaw, Michigan. She was sexually abused from age 5 to 10 by an older male cousin, a violent young man who later killed 4 men and is currently serving life in a Super Max prison. "I didn't speak of my abuse to anyone until I was 26 years old," she says. "I finally told my mother when I was 34. I felt so much shame, guilt, disgust and fear about it that I feared anyone knowing so deeply that I could not bring myself to discuss it with anyone. I held in all the pain, which now crushes me because I have a daughter who is 6 years old and I cannot wrap my head around someone her age holding all that in." Holly goes on, "Shortly after my abuser moved away my younger sister was diagnosed with Leukemia and treated at a hospital 3 hours from our home. The next 5 years my parents were non-existent in my life. My older sister had a boyfriend she spent all her time with, so from the age of 11-16 I was basically left to fend for myself. This left me with abandonment and neglect issues on top of the sexual abuse." Fortunately, Holly found her way to recovery. "I'm finally FREE and at peace and have self love. I hate to use the word grateful, but it's the closest word to describe how I feel about my past because it's made me be able to truly understand others in times of suffering and has given me the ability to help others through their struggles wherever they may be, and that is so powerful and a true gift. It's made me realize what I want to do and how I want to spend the rest of my life."