I am striving to be the change I want to see in this world. And my fight against abuse is being this change. If you heal yourself from abuse it will stop with you. Change can only start with you.
Nicholas Sparks
Sylvia Browne
Clive Cussler
Jerry Spinelli
Dan Millman
Mitch Albom
One Time I saw Morning Come Home and No One Loves a Drunken Indian by Clair Huffaker,
Heroes
My Mom is my number one hero!
Dad
My Hubby
My Grandmother
My Children and Grandchildren
Debbie Remembering why I started this battle..... EVERY CHILD DESERVES SOMEONE WHO WOULD FIGHT FOR THEM, PROTECT THEM AND MOST OF ALL LOVE THEM... view more
Debbie Williamson has overcome a lifetime of denial and now offers her story and experience to men and women seeking answers and help with their own journeys.
STAND
Overcoming a Lifetime of abuse and neglect with Grace and Dignity
At 9 years old Debbie Williamson was a victim of sexual abuse – a legacy her family kept hidden for three generations. But her story ends up with a very different outcome. After generations of abuse, Debbie’s courage stopped the cycle before it was allowed to affect the next generation. She now works to share how people can work to overcome the effects of a traumatic past.
Debbie is currently launching a new program based on her first book STAND (Souper Publishing, Jan. 2008) to help others, and to turn their lives around before it’s too late. Her series of lectures and classes, using spirituality and her story of redemption, are available in the Utah area and soon nationally.
The hidden trauma of childhood rape often maps a life filled with destructive patterns and shame. Such was almost the case for Debbie. Feeling disconnected and suffering from depression for most of her life, she eventually ended-up planning her own death, only to have her then 8-year old daughter find her.
Today, Debbie's words of wisdom, experiences and spiritual guidance help others who are searching for the tools they need. Those who attend her presentations and read STAND say peace is brought back into their lives.
About the author:
Born in Salt Lake City, she grew up in Southern California and now lives in Utah with her family and four miniature schnauzers. She and her husband are the parents of 9 children and 11 grandchildren. Family is her number one priority and when not working with university and church groups, she can be found golfing and sailing with her children and husband, Gary.Challenges of Sharing my Life:
When I started writing this book it was intended to be more of a journal to make sure my children understood the family history and who I was. I wanted them to know because I have always believed that the truth can heal you. Putting my life in print for the world to read came after three years of journaling my experiences into pages that were meant to be for my children. When I made the decision to publish it I had reached the four year mark journaling. It was after relentless visions and one very special message from my grandmother during an illness that I made my decision to write a book and leave my mark on this world. I struggled with the question; why would anyone care about my life and my experiences. I also struggled with knowing on some level my family was not going to be thrilled for the world to have an insight to their personal life.
I had a belief and a message from the other side that my story might not only help my children but maybe it could help other people lost in their own pain. I thought if I could get people to understand that you can heal from abuse instead of being a survivor that it would change the fight against abuse. I have always known it starts with yourself and healing you first is the only way you can protect it from spreading to your children. I stayed focused on this belief. It was something I knew I had to do.
I also was not overjoyed with walking through my past once again, to relive moments that will always be very painful let alone try to put them on paper. The beautiful part about healing is that every time you walk through your past and the pain it gets easier and the healing grows.
One of the more difficult parts of sharing my personal life was that it was not just my life I was sharing. It was also my children’s lives and their father’s life as well. I had been through so much with my children that I often wondered if sharing my life and my feelings about their father would destroy the love they had for me. I could not bare to think about life without them so I stayed focused on the message and trusted that they would understand why I had to write my story. The message I had to bring was bigger than me and my fears.
The most difficult part of the journey was struggling with my mother’s fears of shame and disgrace. She had never come to terms with her life and was in no way ready to share it with the world. It took a lot of explaining to get her to understand that I had good reasons to write the book and I had to make my mark on this world in the fight against abuse. She fought abuse in her way and this was mine. My mother’s change of heart came when I told her grandma had come to see me. She said she had been waiting for her mother to send a message letting her know she was ok. She agreed to do the book with me and offered her journals for her family’s history and hers. When I was to the point of adding mom’s story to the book she passed away and all I had were her writings and things she had shared with me in counseling. It took me months to read through her journals and I almost gave up during the research process on my family’s history, it was not an easy task and the emotional part of it was almost overwhelming.
Mom’s passing was so very difficult for me, I had wanted her to heal her broken heart before she left this world but it wasn’t meant to be. The last time I spoke with her she made me promise that I would not give up that I would finish the book and share our story with the world. She said she had prayed about my reasons for wanting to write the book and the answers she received were the same as mine, just do it. Not having her there by my side made it even more challenging; I questioned my motives and everything that I believed from that moment on. I kept my focus close to my heart right along with the promise I made to my mother and somehow I finished.
I have never felt such a strong presence from the other side as I did in the last five months of writing. I knew that my grandmother and my father were with me the entire time. I hired a ghost writer to help me interview my aunt for the information on my grandfather. She told me several times during the interview process that my father’s presence was so powerful she was having a difficult time concentrating. I was taken back for a moment when she described his looks to me, she had never seen a picture of my dad, but her description was right on. It was comforting to know that she was a witness to my miracle.
The first time I held an actual printed copy of my book was very emotional. I sat in my office for hours and cried. I felt like I did after the life training program I had gone through, only it was much more powerful. I knew that somehow I would leave a mark on my generation that would be felt generations after I am gone. I knew that my message would be heard. I had followed the burning desire in my heart to make a difference and change the future for my children with the hopes of changing the future of someone else’s children as well.
I am grateful that I stayed on course and kept my focus.
I believe with all my heart that my message will find its own path. Sharing my life was the only way I could use the wrong that had been done in a positive way. My life has been a series of miracles, its how I chose to use these miracles that matters.
I was told when my journey heal started that forgiveness would heal my life and along with it my family. I had never understood forgiveness until I found the courage in me to try it.
Forgiveness is not about your abuser. It is about you giving the pain that owns you back to the person who hurt you.
Reviews:
"I had the privilege of reading the book entitled "Stand" By Debbie Williamson. It is an amazing book, you will laugh, you will cry, you will be in awe after reading this book. I got goose bumps while reading it and planned on only reading a chapter or two every night. That could not happen. I could not put the book down. It is such an inspirational book on taking a stand! Life will come at you a lot of the times like a lion, but if you take a stand, and have something or someone to hold on to, you can and will overcome if you just take a STAND! Congratulations Debbie on your amazing book!"
Sandra Ortega
"Who a woman becomes is shaped by her early years. How a woman sees herself is a response to how people treat her, especially in her pubescence. Author, Debbie Williamson, relates the graphic depiction of how she saw herself when raped twice by her uncle at age nine: "be quiet, don't tell, go play, go to my bed, clean yourself up." One young man's selfish need catapulted this child into a life of growing awareness that abuse was a pattern in her mother line. Debbie determined to break the pattern of three generations, and she has done so!
However, this isn't a story about rape. Rather, this is a journey of inspiration. The message is follow your dream! Debbie shares the journey of how early abuse impacts a women's life choices in marriage, work, parenting, and love. Debbie chose to seek help and break the prison her uncle built, and owned it as her own; therein was her key to freedom. She found extraordinary courage to disclose the incident up to her mother, and together they attended counseling, faced the rapist uncle and reached a place of forgiveness with each other.
The message I took to heart is that Debbie developed an uncanny intuitive ability from the abuse experience. When she started listening to her inner strength, her life changed for the better. She always envisioned an image of her knight in shining armor, and when she met him, knew that God had answered her prayers for complete love in this life.
Her story is empowering and inspiring, humbling and eye-opening. I recommend this biography for men and women who seek insight into the resilience and soul of human strength as their are lessons for each of us."
Dr. Caron Goode
Founder, Academy for Coaching Parents International, LLC
Author, The Art & Science of Coaching Parents
"To whom it may concern,
I have read the book "Stand" by Debbie Williamson and found it very poignant and soul-searching. It must have been like a catharsis for Ms. Willimson to bare her soul in such a fashion. The book should be a must-read for everyone that was abused in some form.
Who I'd like to meet:
I'd like to meet Shirley McLain someday. She braided my hair in the LA airport when I was ten. She was filming a movie there with David Niven and Clint Eastwood. I was there picking up my grandfather with my mom. I would like to tell her that I never forgot how she made me feel special. She told me I could be anyone I wanted to be if I just believed it. I believe and I would like to hug her I have never forgotten her words.
http://www.4marks.com/videos/details.html?video_id=723
And I would like to meet this man, NICK, he is an angel.
FOR THE MEN WHO HAVE US,
THE LOSERS WHO HAD US,
AND THE LUCKY PEOPLE WHO WILL MEET US!!
SEND THIS ONLY TO PRETTY LADIES, INCLUDING THE ONE WHO SENT IT TO YOU!!!
You have been hit. You have been considered One of the 10 prettiest ladies on my friends list. Once you have been hit, you have to hit 10 pretty ladies. If you get hit again you know you're really pretty. If you break the chain you'll have ugliness for 10 years.
So hit 10 pretty ladies on your friends list and let ! them know they are pretty
Just wanted to say that you are a blessing in my life and that I am glad to have you in my circle of friends. Hope you have a wonderful Friday and an awesome weekend ahead. Take care.
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