Isolated by Pain

Pat LaPointe, author of “The Woman I’ve Become,” has brought to my attention yet another group of people who feel isolated and alone.  She writes, “In the 60’s and 70’s women began to fight for others to hear and listen to their voices.  And there were some significant changes for many women. There is one group of women, however, who often continue to remain silent. These are the women who have suffered abuse: incest, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Not only weren’t their voices heard, but they often felt too embarrassed or responsible for the abuse to talk about it. They not only remained silent, but felt complete isolation, often believing they were the only ones who had these experiences.” 

Pat goes on to say, “In my work counseling women, they would present with other issues: anxiety, lack of self-confidence, negative self-images and loneliness. But in more than half the cases, the basis for the problems was some form of abuse they had suffered or were currently suffering.”

          Once these women found that they were not alone, the healing process could begin.  After years of hearing their stories Pat decided that she wanted to give the women a voice with the hope that their words would inspire other women and also reduce their feelings of loneliness.   So she put a call out to these women asking them to tell their stories.  Some brave women came forward and the book, “The Woman I’ve Become,” was written as a compilation of their inspirational stories.  

          I had a chance to speak with Pat about her book and the interview will be shared in my next post.