I Sing the Blues and Cry

Book excerpt: Many of us go through life feeling isolated and alone in a world full of family, friends, and gods. In I Sing the Blues and Cry, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse expresses through both poetry and prose the shared fear, confusion, anger, hope, and faith needed to accomplish joy in a world infused with pain. One out of every four little girls is sexually abused, and the majority of the abusers are family members or close friends of the family in America today. They are trapped in a cage of shame, guilt, and secrecy. Bodies grow, minds mature, yet there still remains a broken little girl within each victim. Author Iris Killens Cheeks shares conversations, verse, and vital resources to open a door into the thoughts, perceptions, and soul of a survivor of sexual, mental, and emotional abuse. This little girl found a way to survive, mature, and conquer many of the battles she faced due to traumatic experiences that no child should have to endure. Hers is a story that is poignant, revealing, and uplifting--a story of light, acceptance, forgiveness, and growth. I Sing the Blues and Cry is an inspiring look beyond the surface into the eyes of a child, a woman, and a survivor.