Silence Broken

Stories of Childhelp USA's Journey in the Treatment and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect These stories give an emotional but uplifting voice to one of society's darkest secrets: child abuse. After witnessing his parents murder his sister, a little boy became totally silent. He was placed in 15 different foster homes before being sent to the Childhelp Village. No matter how hard they tried, the staff was unable to get the little boy to speak. Finally, the man in charge of the Village's animal therapy program took the little boy to the barn and told him that "Chocolate," a pony, was now his responsibility. Everyday, the little boy ran to the barn to take care of Chocolate. On the fifth day, he put his arms around the pony and said, "I love you." Once his silence had been broken, the boy rapidly began to heal. This story is but one from a lifetime of work of two women, Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson. This book--told through the voices of the founders, victims, and associates of Childhelp USA--is truly a journey from tragedy to triumph. The resiliency of both these women and the children they have touched with their love is a lesson for us all.

It has been four years since Oakley, her mum, and brother fled to Australia. With the trials looming, she makes the decision to return to England. Oakley is desperate for closure so she can put the past behind her and move on with her life. How will she cope when she comes face to face with the two people that hurt her the most, and the one person that she hurt the most? Her love for Cole never faded, but how will he react to her return after so long? Will they be able to put everything behind them in order to have a happy ending?

At a time in history when fear of ‘the other’ has become commonplace, The Broken Silence is a timely book that shows a glimpse in the timeline of how Islam has been marginalized in society. It examines the impacts of economic sanctions on vulnerable populations and opens with an important essay by the author’s daughter, published in the Huffington Post, that paints a bleak picture of the human costs of years of international sanctions against Iraq, including the deaths of over half a million children as reported by the United Nations. Her argument that desperate young people are driven to commit heinous acts of terror not out of religious fervour but as misguided reactions to injustices, is to this day, little recognized by politicians or the media. This powerful memoir explores the human cost of sanctions and the author’s tireless efforts over many years to promote awareness and activism to have those sanctions lifted. Mohammed Javed’s childhood and youth experiences instilled in him a commitment to compassion and caring. As the founder of I.LEAD (Islam. Learn. Engage. Achieve. Develop.), Mr. Javed brought together numerous groups and organizations to hold conferences to explore the many questions facing Muslims in the National Capital Region and beyond. Earlier, while living in Halifax, he became a regularly published op-ed writer. He also helped motivate Svend Robinson, then a Member of Parliament, to embrace the cause of lifting sanctions, and wrote many letters to the prime minister, cabinet ministers and interested MPs. Told with frank clarity and rounded out with copies of letters, emails, and articles, The Broken Silence explores the real causes of terrorism and its remedies. It also seeks to help non-Muslims to better understand this ancient religion and calls out to Muslims to explore the real values of Islam and regain its true spirit. Above all, it is a call for all ethnicities and religions to work collectively for a more peaceful, compassionate, and caring world for our children and grandchildren. Many thanks to: Lubna Javed Shamsia Quraishi Bassam Javed For the insightful editing service they have rendered for this work.

It has been four years since Oakley, her mum, and brother fled to Australia. With the trials looming, she makes the decision to return to England. Oakley is desperate for closure so she can put the past behind her and move on with her life. How will she cope when she comes face to face with the two people that hurt her the most, and the one person that she hurt the most? Her love for Cole never faded, but how will he react to her return after so long? Will they be able to put everything behind them in order to have a happy ending?

From the #1 international bestselling author of the Baltimore series comes a suspenseful novella featuring Assistant State’s Attorney Daphne Montgomery and Special Agent Joseph Carter. After a traumatic kidnapping, Daphne’s boss insists that she take time off. But she refuses to sit on the sidelines when she meets a six-year-old girl who the police call Angel. Angel hasn’t spoken a word since they found her four days ago next to a burned out car, frozen with shock, not far from the bodies of two adults who may or may not have been her parents. Joseph knows that helping Angel is exactly what Daphne needs right now. But when Daphne gets Angel to talk, a mysterious and chilling crime begins to unravel—one that drives Daphne into the darkest corners of her past as she and Joseph track a ruthless killer. Includes a preview of Watch Your Back

Broken Silence brings together for the first time many of Japan's leading feminists, women who have been bucking the social mores of a patriarchal society for years but who remain virtually unknown outside Japan. While Japan is often thought to be without a significant feminist presence, these interviews and essays reveal a vital community of women fighting for social change. Sandra Buckley's dialogues with poets, journalists, teachers, activists, and businesswomen exemplify the diversity of Japanese feminism: we meet Kanazumi Fumiko, a lawyer who assists women in a legal system that has long discriminated against them; Kora Rumiko, a poet who reclaims and redefines language to convey her experiences as a woman; Nakanishi Toyoko, founder of the Japanese Women's Bookstore; and Ueno Chizuko, a professor who has tackled such issues as pornography and abortion reform both in and out of the academy. These women speak to a host of issues—the politics of language, the treatment of women in medicine and law, the deeply entrenched role of women as mothers and caregivers, the future of feminism in Japan, and the relationship between Japanese feminists and "western" feminisms. Broken Silence will do much to dispel Western stereotypes about Japanese women and challenge North American attitudes about feminism abroad. With a timeline, glossary, and comprehensive list of feminist organizations, this is a long overdue collection sure to inform and excite all those interested in feminism and Japan.

All Asians are smart. Asians are very quiet and composed. We are the model minority... OR ARE WE? Chong Kim breaks the silence that has muzzled generations of cultural oppression and unties the invisible "gag" that has muted the voices of Asian-Americans for centuries. Broken Silence is the unbridled testimony of one person's account of cover-ups, racism, sexual abuse, and human trafficking.

My name is Ashlee. I am a victim of murder. Through a series of events and by two shots of a gun, I was made a widow at the age of 28, with my youngest child just six weeks old. I am a victim of infidelity. I have felt unlovable. I have felt rejected. I have had days in my life when I wasn't sure if I would ever take a breath again, let alone be able to raise my five children by myself. I have lived in fear. I have felt much heartache. I have felt truly broken to my core. I have carried some heavy burdens...not only of my own, but burdens put upon my shoulders by the death of my husband. I have felt alone. I have felt humiliated. I have been humbled to my knees. I have searched my soul to find my worth in this world, and in the life that was left for me. My world has been totally shattered. I have faced realities I never knew were possible, and found strength within myself to keep up the fight and live every day as if it was on purpose. I have been carried by Angels...both earthly beings and those unseen. I have found that being a "victim" doesn't mean we have an excuse to stop living. Being a victim means finding a reason for seeking a higher road. I have picked up the pieces left and carried on. I am a mother. We are survivors. In one way or another, we are all victims. There are times in our lives when we are forced to question who we are at our core. When we are presented with a path...we can go this way or we can choose that way. For some, this moment comes when the one person whom we love the most decides we are not enough. This person leave us-at a most vulnerable moment-alone to search within ourselves for who we really are. We are left trying to find who it is that was left behind. Sometimes the person we love dies. Sometimes it is merely an internal battle we are facing...all alone inside our minds. Whatever the situation and wherever you have been...you have been hurt. You have felt alone. You have been abandoned, either by your parents, your lover, your friends, complete strangers, or even yourself. We have all been at that crossroad where all we have left is ourselves. Sometimes these moments of lows have brought you to your knees and caused you to reflect and ponder your relationship with God...and other times they have made you question if He is even there, or if He knows you are alone. Whatever that moment has been for you, it is personal and real. It has defined and refined who you are, who you think you were, and who you want to become. This is my story...the defining moments that have truly brought me to my knees, the times when I've questioned to my core my very existence, and the experiences I've had that have shown me who I really am and who my Heavenly Father still needs me to become. The night of my husband's death was my darkest hour, but also the very moment when I saw firsthand that my Heavenly Father sent Angels on errands for me. He carried me. It was the hour when all my fears and all the pain of this world collided together and He was there...putting back together all the pieces, one step at a time.