Survivor Haven
July 2001
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INDEPENDENCE DAY
"Well she seemed all right by dawns early light
Though she looked a little worried and weak
She tried to pretend he wasn't drinking again
But daddy left the proof on her cheek...."
Independence Day
Song by: Martina McBride
From her CD "The Way That I Am."
Late one night I was thinking about the July issue of Survivor Haven when my local country station played Martina McBride's song Independence Day.
As always when I hear the song Independence Day, I see the video that was made to go with it in my mind. The woman being beaten by the husband while Ms. McBride's fantastic voice belts out the words "roll the stone away, let the guilty pay - its Independence Day."I don't know how many of you follow country music but I saw an interview Ms. McBride did on CMT. In it she said the record producers, agents and so forth told her not to do the song. That it would hinder her career but she had her mind set on it. Years later, they are still getting requests from women's shelters around the country asking for copies of the video.
With her courage for taking a stand against domestic violence in my mind, I decided to make this issue a celebration of Independence in itself.
The poems, essays and articles all tell a story. The story is one that needs to be gotten out to as many victims as possible so they know that there is life after Independence.
I asked writers to tell our readers about personal Independence Days. The day they said enough! No more will I be beat. No more will I be abused. No more will my parents control or emotionally abuse me. No more will I be a victim. From now on I am a SURVIVOR.
With that said, I hope you will enjoy this themed issue of Survivor Haven.
Tenna Perry
POETRY
Katherine West tells of how independence can take flight in She Survived
"shyflower" takes us on a flight to new heights in Descent
She tells of the survivor's anguished twists and turns in Labryinth
Then look into tomorrow, today and yesterday in Fear Of FallingSusan Maree Jeavons discovers her reason for carrying on and destiny in No Longer Under Enemy Control
Tenna Perry tells of a different although all too often type of escape from abuse in Freedom Found
As well as a Breaking Free
PERSONAL ESSAYS
Heide Kaminski One Day I Woke Up And Followed The Sound Of The Liberty Bell
Mary Smith's story will touch anyone who has had to stand up to an abusive parent when the cycle begins to overlap towards their own children in Freedom To Grow.
Melody Tyme tells of how a call to the principle's office turned into The Day My Freedom Began
Barbara Vanover had to have a two-year-old boy make her realize her life wasn't right in Forgetting Upbringing To Become Free Of Pain
Fighting Back
This month has seen the premier of the Victor Not Victim website that is managed by our own Tenna Perry. As such, many of the fighting back links will take you to that site. If this is your first visit to Survivor Haven, please bookmark us before leaving the site so you may easily return in the future.
Margaret Helmstetter has three different stories to tell that thankfully had a happy outcome. Under different circumstances things could have been disastrous.
Its 2 AM, your husband is away and you are home alone with the children when someone comes pounding on your door. Would you do this? The Wrong Door?
Looking around, I see something in the neighbor's bushes, she does not have a dog. It is too big to be a cat….How Not To Answer The Door
How many of us take these same types of unnecessary risks everyday? Parking Lot Crazy.
Tenna Perry touches on several self-defense subjects this month.
The first is a true story that happened to her eighty plus year old mother in Houston. An Intruder’s DeterrentHer second story happened only this past month when her twelve-year-old daughter Vicki was almost kidnapped while waiting for the school bus. Keeping Your Children Safe
Do you know what constitutes The Only Wrong Move In Self-Defense?
For previous self-defense articles, please go to our Fighting Back page.
The Library
This month we have begun a library of sorts here at Survivor Haven. In it you will find links to many fine books dealing with the recovery of rape, child and domestic abuse. This list is by no means complete and if you know of a book you would like to recommend but don't see listed, please let us know.
While all the publishers try to make these books sound as if they are the best on the market, we have a few book reviews that may assist you in making a choice. Click here to enter the
Survivor Haven Library.
BOOK REVIEWS
Bea Sheftel has written an indepth review of the self-help book, Reach For The Rainbow
Sue Marquette Poremba discusses the catalyst that led her to read and how she was helped by Ghosts In The Bedroom.
Tenna Perry can't say enough about A Child Called IT
Tina Miller's review is a fascinating look into Whose Face Is In The Mirror?
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