Welcome!
My name is Maureen and I am a writer, speaker, instructor, and abuse victim-survivor advocate.
Years ago, I learned that my then-husband was sexually abusing a child. A year later, I learned that my good friend and mentor, another Christian man, was a serial child molester. I have been researching sexual abuse dynamics ever since.
My goal is to combine research with personal experience to educate sacred and secular communities about abuse, and how to create safe environments where abusers will not feel welcomed.
PROFESSIONAL STUFF
My writings about abuse dynamics and healing have appeared on various websites including Christianity Today, CBE International, Converge, Christ and Pop Culture, and The Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth.
My speaking has been on radio programs, podcasts, in college classrooms, churches, and at conferences.
PERSONAL STUFF
Here are some random things about me:
I love reading, books, libraries, and tea.
I am drawn to biblical narratives with female characters.
Much to the horror of some, I am a fan of some dark terrifying biblical passages, as well as some dark scary movies and books. I return to them over and over seeking solace, encounters with God, and the opportunities to practice courage.
In reference to my hard-won optimism, a friend once quipped that if I was asked whether the glass was half empty or half full, that I would exclaim "Oh! What a pretty glass!"
I have broken my right elbow - twice. Once when I was twelve in a seesaw incident, and again when I was thirty-one while wearing roller blades and reaching for my elbow pads.
3 Lessons learned from my twice broken/twice healed elbow:
1. Never make a homemade seesaw with a 2 by 4 and a garden wall.
2. Always put knee and elbow pads on before attaching wheels to your feet. Always.
3. And, finally, sometimes healing can be incomplete, yet totally sufficient.
Thanks for visiting!
Feel free to meander around the site, read some stuff, and contact me if you like.
I hope you encounter some words here that leave you feeling connected, understood, informed, equipped, encouraged, and perhaps even hopeful. After all, while abusers are many, we - their victim/survivors - outnumber them.
