Betrayed!: A True Story of Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse

Author, Linda Merritt, addresses the surprisingly common and often misunderstood issue of clergy sexual abuse (CSA) of adult women. Desiring to bring understanding to this complex issue, Linda explains how predatory clergy can betray the trust of wounded, broken, vulnerable women, and imprison them in invisible dungeons of abuse, often for years. She also explains how emotional prisons are as real and as effective as prisons made of concrete and steel. She hopes that in this book women abused by clergy will find comfort, understanding, and hope for healing and wholeness. While reading her autobiography, you will weep, you will laugh, you will feel her outrage, and you will share in her ultimate triumphs over a lifetime of trauma and staggering personal losses. Her answers to questions so often asked of victims of CSA as to why they didn't, "just say, 'No!'" are uniquely credible and worthy of consideration. She knows the answers to those questions far better than most. Now transformed from a victim into a survivor, she is a member of the sisterhood of the Betrayed! Linda is an author, public speaker, and minister to abused women. She welcomes the opportunity to speak to your church or civic group in her spirit of undaunted positivity and hope. She can be contacted at: lindamerritt184@gmail.com. This is a must-read if you or anyone you know has been abused by clergy as an adult. BETRAYED! A True Story of Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse is the story of one person's life that was vulnerable from an early age to be the target of abuse and sexual exploitation. BETRAYED! is the story of a breakthrough that took decades of suffering and relationship struggles. This book takes you through a long journey that will guide you to the true love that will redeem you no matter how much your life has been damaged and traumatized. May you find Hope! Dr. Terry L. Collier, Executive Director Anona Family Life Counseling Center Largo, FL