You're Not Alone: The Journey from Abduction to Empowerment

More documents

Recommendations

Info

SAM’S STORYMy story is not your average,everyday story and neither is yours.My story is different from many ofyours, but it is also similar in manyways. I lost 8 1/2 months of my lifeto a person that I am supposedto look up to and listen to. I lost8 1/2 months of time with myfriends and family to a person Iam supposed to love and strive toemulate. I lost 8 1/2 months ofmy life to my dad. I was abducted by my own father.On July 19, 1997, my dad took me from my mother. I was 10 years old. My parentshad been divorced for some time when suddenly, my dad decided to take meaway from everything I knew in my life. We traveled from one side of the countryto the other, and when we finally settled in one place, reality sank in for me.“Coming home from yourabduction is half the battle.We were strong enough to makeit through the hard part, butthe road ahead is yet anotherstruggle. You might think thatwhen you arrive home frombeing kidnapped, everything isgoing to be okay and go rightback to normal. But life isn’tthe same. ”I was not allowed to talk to others. Icould not go to school. I couldn’t evenuse my real name. We had to changeour names and live a lie to make surenobody would find us. But on March28, 1998, in Alvin, Texas, I was found.You were found, too. That is whatmakes our stories so similar. We werefound for a reason. We were given thegift of coming back to our lives, andnow it is up to us to make the mostof it.20
FAMILY ABDUCTIONWhen you are abducted by a family member, as soon as you come home yourealize the differences in the way your family is structured. Your experience hasaffected your life and the lives of others. If you were abducted by a family memberand returned to your other parent, your home, your friends and school, andyour everyday routine all may be different. The list goes on and on. What youwere used to for days, weeks, and evenmonths before is suddenly changed. But, Iam here to tell you that it can be okay.Was it hard for me? Of course it was. It tookme a long time to realize that my dad wasnot going to be in my life again. It is hard tolose somebody, especially when you knowthis person could still be in your life. But Ihad to ask myself if I really wanted someonein my life who was not going to do what wasbest for me.“I think that the bottom lineis that no matter who takes you,whether a family member,acquaintance, or stranger, thatperson is not a friend to youbecause they are not looking outfor your best interests. ”LEARNING TO TRUSTOne of the biggest issues I faced was learning to trust people again. It felt almostimpossible for me to trust anybody, even myself, after my dad deliberately tookme away from my life. I didn’t know who was really looking out for my bestinterests anymore. I found it very hard to realize that other people were differentfrom my father, and deserved my trust.You may feel the same way. I didn’t trust people—really anyone—for a very longtime. Then, I realized that there are people around me who really do love andcare for me. There are genuinely good people out there who deserve my trust.Amazingly, rebuilding trust does happen. It just takes time. Don’t be afraid to giveyourself time, or to ask for it from those around you. Help them understand whatyou need.Being abducted by a family member means that you are also suffering the lossof someone who was a part of your life but will not be in your life anymore.21
Page 1: U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of
Page 4 and 5: U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of
Page 6 and 7: LETTER FROM THE AUTHORSLike you, we
Page 10 and 11: You may feel that you need some spa
Page 12: Remember, you cannot do this alone.
Page 15 and 16: high school. I played sports, was a
Page 17 and 18: “The day after I was rescued, I h
Page 19 and 20: in pieces when I came home. But thr
Page 21: Remember:>> Seek out the people you
Page 26 and 27: I eventually realized that was okay
Page 28 and 29: SECTION 3: GETTING IN THE DRIVER’
Page 30 and 31: YOUR RIGHTSRemember that you have r
Page 32 and 33: ELIZABETH’S STORYBelieve it or no
Page 34 and 35: REACHING OUTWhen I needed someone,
Page 36 and 37: SECTION 4: NAVIGATING THE ROADBLOCK
Page 38 and 39: “I only go on media if I believe
Page 40 and 41: POLICE INVESTIGATIONSOne thing that
Page 42 and 43: VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTAt the sente
Page 44 and 45: MAGGIE’S STORYMy name is Maggie a
Page 46 and 47: come to depend on. And believe it o
Page 48 and 49: FINDING YOUR STRENGTHIt is not easy
Page 50 and 51: SECTION 5: THE NEW NORMALWhat you h
Page 52 and 53: RETURNING TO SCHOOLReturning to sch
Page 54 and 55: CELEBRITY STATUSBe prepared to live
Page 56 and 57: ALICIA’S STORYWelcome home! You a
Page 58 and 59: IT’S NOT YOUR FAULTIt took me a w
Page 60 and 61: want to know whom I am talking to a
Page 62 and 63: A LETTER TOPARENTSDear Parents,As s
Page 64 and 65: WHERE TO FINDMORE HELPEveryone who
Page 66 and 67: Through the Office for Victims of C
Page 68: YOUR STORY64

You're Not Alone: The Journey from Abduction to Empowerment

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?