I’ve always been an advocate for sexual abuse and assault survivors. In fact, my first novel How Sweet the Sound was written as a response to questions I had for the Lord about the subject.
How Sweet the Sound tells the story of a survivor as she navigates her own healing journey. A big part of this story is about the friends who come alongside and support her. I wrote it with particular care and sensitivity, based on years of research, talking to survivor groups, and my own recovery so that survivors could read it and find hope without feeling too triggered.
The following are facts and a helpful message on how to help survivors from RAINN.org.
Remember that the healing process is fluid. Everyone has bad days. Don’t interpret flashbacks, bad days, or silent spells as “setbacks.” It’s all part of the process.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline is available by phone (800.656.HOPE) and online (online.rainn.org). Talk with someone who is trained to help anytime, 24/7.
For more information and resources on sexual abuse and assault, visit The Recovery Villiage’s resource page.
How Sweet the Sound by Amy K. Sorrells
Wealth and etiquette can hide a lot of things in the South, as the esteemed Harlan family of sleepy Bay Spring, Alabama, knows. But behind the gentle facade of white pillared porches and acres of cultivated pecan orchards, family secrets smolder.
Young Anniston Harlan cares little for high society and the rigid rules and expectations of her grandmother, Princella. She finds solace working the orchards alongside her father and grandfather, and relief in the cool waters of Mobile Bay.
Anniston’s aunt, Comfort Harlan, has never quite lived up to the family name, or so her mother Princella’s ever-apparent scowl implies. When she gleefully accepts the proposal of her longtime boyfriend, Solly, a flood tide of tragedy ensues that strips Comfort of her innocence and unleashes generations of family secrets, changing the Harlan family forever.
While Comfort struggles to recover, Anniston discovers an unlikely new friend from the seedy part of town who helps her try to make sense of the chaos. Together, they and the whole town of Bay Spring discover how true love is a risk, but one worth taking.
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[…] that book was released, I have heard from countless other survivors of rape and abuse. I encourage these women to tell their stories by any means available. I testify to the healing […]