FROM SORROWS TO SAPPHIRES

A child sexual abuse survivor recounts her journey to freedom in this memoir.

Williams’ biological father walked away from her family in the 1960s when she was only a few days old. She was raised in a suburb of Mobile, Alabama, by her mother and stepfather, Carl Rivers. The author recounts that from the age of 3 onward, she was subjected to 14 years of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse at the hands of Rivers. Williams reveals how he would treat her like an animal, threaten to kill her mother if she revealed his secret, and attempt to break her spirit by taking away items she loved, like her crayons. By fourth grade, she decided to tell a teacher that she had been raped, but her claims were dismissed. At 17, Williams attempted suicide, but heard a voice she believed to be God’s say, “We’ll figure it out.” Thus began her quest for freedom. Yet after Rivers’ death in a train wreck, Williams’ trauma seemed to become only “more real.” The author explains how her faith in God gave her back her identity stolen by her abuser. Williams’ writing is passionate and persuasive, charged with energy and a yearning for change: “Generations of secrecy have destroyed lives, hopes, and dreams. The wounded among us now reach epidemic proportions, yet there are so few platforms for honesty and for healing.” But her prose can also prove intimate, speaking directly to readers: “If you know this fear, if you identify with surviving…please know it is because you did not have power.” Some readers may consider Williams’ descriptions of her abuse too graphic: “Not a word was uttered while he was rubbing me, then he climbed on top of me. I tried to pull away. I squirmed, and he pulled me back to him.” This results in a harrowing read, but it is the author’s intention to make the audience fully grasp the horror of the act. Williams’ liberation is driven predominantly by her Christian beliefs, and those who do not share her religious viewpoint may struggle to connect with her story. Still, this is stirring, proactive writing that empowers survivors with memorable, pithy statements: “Silence enables the injustice; silence is the enemy of healing.”

A frank, courageous, and powerful account that will lend strength to survivors of abuse.