by Merita | Sep 21, 2024 | Culture of Silence
Part II of a deleted scene from "Heartache of Promise." JoAnne lay on her bed. Her arms held her legs, doubled up, close to her body. Her matted hair lay strung across the pillow like seaweed washed onto sand. Except for her heaving chest, she didn’t move. Rose-Marie...
by Merita | Aug 22, 2024 | Culture of Silence
Second-hand Trauma... You may NOT have received horrible abuse (thank God if that’s true), but if you were close to it like I was, its effects run deep. I can assure you, second-hand trauma ain’t fun either. However, trauma is trauma, and it’s not a competitive sport,...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Apr 15, 2022 | Childhood Abuse and Trauma, Culture of Silence, Points of Light, Restoration from Abuse
“The tired-er you get, the faster you go,” Dad used to comment when she was eight. Now, at seventy-two, her steps halt as my sister wheels her suitcase down the hall to our lodging at the conference center. JerryAnn isn’t going fast today, but she is going....
by Merita Atherly Engen | Sep 7, 2021 | Creative, Culture of Silence, Points of Light, Restoration from Abuse, Shining on God's Character
Compared to others, my family didn’t have much money, but one thing we shared with our community was the Culture of Silence. If something bad or questionable happened, it was all hush-hush or became part of the gossip mill in which I was seldom included. Hard...
