We get more mail
I got a note today that I thought my be of interest to all of you, so I’m sharing the relevant part of the email:
I’m writing to introduce myself and the Letters to My Abusers Project. If you think you may be interested in publishing a letter to your abuser, you can read the submission guidelines at the site www.letterstomyabusers.com. I realize that not everyone is ready to do something like this and so I totally understand if you must pass. I myself have written nine of my own letters to the nine men who abused me and while it was difficult, it was a healing experience for me. Especially when it came time to revise each letter and finding just the right words to express how I felt at the time and how I am taking my power back today. If you feel you are ready for this I am accepting submissions throughout 2007, preferably as soon as they are ready to be submitted. Part of the proceeds will go to organizations geared toward survivors of childhood abuse, particularly those that focus on retreats and workshops for survivors.
Hope to hear from you. Keep healing and growing.
Stephanie Gagos
I’m not really sure how I feel about the idea of writing a letter at this point in my life, and after spending my Saturday working for 10.5 hours, I’m a bit too tired to give it much serious thought right now. I will be giving it some thought at a later date though. If you decide to participate in this project, let us know.
Hmmm I haven’t read much of the site but it would depend whether you would send these letters or not or whether they would be purely therapeutic. On the advice of another survivor, I wrote one to my dead father and read it out over his grave, that helped with the physical abuse.
For my sexual abuser outside the family, I never saw him again and can’t even remember the 2 months he was there at the school after he abused me so he’d never read it unless I tracked him down.
Sounds like an interesting idea. I don’t see myself doing this, as I confronted my abusers in person a number of years ago.
I wish strength and courage to those who do it.