I thank God for Karen Doughty writing this book; Empowered to uproot the seed of Abuse. I thought I was going to Ms. Doughty for training at the radio station. I met Mrs. Doughty and she told me she had written a book and I bought one to be supportive. I begin to talk and listen to Karen as she began speaking about her book. I went home and begin reading the book.  As I was reading the book I begin to find myself in the book. I said to my self "has this lady peeped into my life?” My God! I thought there was not a soul on this earth that understood me or knew the raging battle that I faced on the inside that held me captive for years. I didn't understand me!  As I read the book things begin to surface that I had suppressed as far back as childhood.  As I continued to read chains begin to break and shackles came off!!! Understanding came forth and I was freed! It haunted me for years that I couldn't understand: Why I acted the way I did?  Why my thought pattern was so.....different from others?  Why I handled and perceived situations so far from the "norm"?  I was confused and I felt trapped because I didn't understand, and that alone had me bound. How could I confront it – when I didn't know what I was dealing with?  I found out that what I was facing the seed of abuse planted in my life as young as the ages of 4 and five. As Karen wrote in her book that these things have a "ripple effect" and sometimes the after affect don't really manifest until we are older in our adult life: Doing things and allowing things that do not have reason; Acting out in strange ways sometimes outrageous and abnormal - basically doing things that are "self-destructive." I begin to remember: Being fondled as a little girl; I also had to release a step dad that many times tried to molest me; the guys that raped me in high school, college, and my adult life.  Then I asked myself why didn't I report these men and have them imprisoned?  Somehow I equated these events to be my fault causing lots of depression, anger and low self esteem, even being suicidal at times. My emotions seemed to swing from one extreme to the other, never in the middle.  There seemed to be no balance in my life.  I had a hard time understanding common sense things and had a hard time grasping things the first time around.  I had to have written things down or repeated it several times to get an understanding - most of the time I got a totally different perception of a thing than others. A lot times I missed things or allowed myself to be caught up in certain situations because of a lack of understanding or bad perception.  When I finished this book I declare I have been set free. "The truth is the Light", I am no longer in the dark trying to find my way.  I know what the problem is and where it stemmed from. This book shed the light on the issues in my life and allowed me to come out of darkness. Now I know why I am the way I am and I have confronted these issues and allowed the word of God to deliver and free me!!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!
                                                                                                           

                                                                                                             -Velda M.