Breaking the Secrets and the Silence

For years, Susan Warner Taylor felt that something about her was off-kilter. It was as if some shadow in her past hovered over her present. For decades, Susan struggled to understand the shadow. She finally forced the shadow into the light when she asked he mother this question:

 “Did Grandpa do something to me?”

Susan was stunned by the answer. Susan learned her grandfather abused her mother and her mother’s four sisters.  Susan later discovered her grandfather had attempted or had been able to abuse more than 25 members of Susan’s extended family.

Hauntingly, some of those cousins told stories that echoed the flashbacks Susan began to have after learning about her grandfather. The ones who were abused all remembered their grandfather saying he loved them in a special way. They remembered their grandfather taking them to his cellar to show them that special way. They remembered being told that special way needed to be their secret.

Susan joins Jennifer Malcolm on the Jennasis Speaks podcast to share her story of revelation, recovery and how sharing stories can heal.

Resources:

• The Search for Significance