Showing results for "Rachel" in Abuse

In Abused: Surviving Sexual Assault and a Toxic Gymnastics Culture, Rachel details her experiences as a competitive gymnast and the painful realities of being one of Nassar’s many victims. With honesty and candidness, Rachel shares how the sport she loved that gave her so much—friendships, accomplishments, a college education—is also tangled in a dangerously toxic culture that needs to be fixed. In a world that was setting her up for a lifetime of recovery, she tells how faith, family, and an army of survivors made healing possible.

Are you thriving in your relationship, or merely surviving? Are you the victim of constant manipulation, gaslighting, and deception at the hands of your partner? Do you find yourself constantly making excuses for your partner's abusive behavior? If you feel trapped in a relationship with someone who displays narcissistic or psychopathic behavior, you may be experiencing a trauma bond—a powerful connection you've developed with your abuser. It's important to remember that you're not alone and it's not your fault.

The figures are shocking: 40% of American women and nearly a quarter of American men have been sexually assaulted. While #MeToo stories and the survivors who shared them have helped combat sexual harassment in the workplace, improved police interventions, and resulted in high-profile convictions, the public has only just begun to reckon with the impact sexual assault has on survivors. The ongoing silence points to the still-taboo intersection of two subjects: sexual assault and sexuality. Sex After Sexual Assault explores this crossroads through the lens of survivors' own stories.

‘Each time my mother laid a finger on me… it was another step into the jaws of hell. Her abuse, more so than any other, destroyed me. It was the ultimate betrayal.’ Abused from the age of eight by her older brother and then her step-father, Maureen Wood quickly became numb to the constant...