Author Information
A survivor
A survivor once sat across from a
well-meaning relative at Thanksgiving
who leaned over and whispered- "You really
should stop bringing it up. It makes
everyone uncomfortable."
She looked at them quietly and thought-
Interesting. It made you uncomfortable for
five minutes. It made me uncomfortable
for five years.
There's a particular cruelty in telling
someone to silence their story for the
comfort of people who never had to live it.
It protects the wrong person every single
time. It asks the one who was hurt to carry
not only the wound- but the inconvenience
of everyone else having to hear about it.
Talking about what happened to you is not
weakness. It is not attention-seeking.
It is not "living in the past."
Silence before you leave protects you.
Silence after you leave-only protects them.
And they ve been protected long enough.
