Additional information
by Leslie M. Raddatz (Author)
Special Announcements: Childhood for Leslie Raddatz is one continuing nightmare. To survive, she represses her memories until one day, when she is a 34-year-old woman, a wife and mother, her past erupts into the present with a full blown flashback. It is the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it threatens to destroy what mental and physical endurance she has salvaged through the years. But, her child within cries out for recognition and mercy. More psychological disorders emerge -- somatization and conversion. She agrees to relive her childhood under the protection of a professional counselor and comes to understand how her parents' neglect made her an easy target for predators who sexually, physically and emotionally abuse her over and over again. She graduates from victim to survivor while detailing today's sophisticated techniques that help her heal: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), attachment and ego state therapy, Brainspotting, positive imagery, resource building, coping skills, art therapy, task therapy, and counseling. Once you read Leslie's story, you can take comfort in the hope she offers and follow her example on your own healing journey.
Author Biography
Leslie lives in Wisconsin with her supportive family. She is currently in graduate school to become a community therapist so she can help fellow survivors of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Leslie was honored to tell her story in a short documentary called "The Silence" which was in several film festivals around the world during 2015-2017. The film won 45 awards. Go to link below to see http: //www.imdb.com/title/tt4142340/awards?ref_=tt_awd Leslie is one of three stories that was portrayed in this documentary. Several aspects of her book was reenacted by two girl actresses. This project was to help with Child Abuse Awareness. This film is now used in several Universities to help educate social workers, counselors, etc. "Together we can break the silence! There will be no place for perpetrators to hide!"
