Finding Wisdom, Healing and Freedom After Childhood Abuse
My Memoir, The Secret Darkness, and Personal Blog, Abuse Journal, help survivors understand abuse, begin healing, and find lasting hope through biblical wisdom and God’s grace. L.M. Carleton – Rescued by Grace
I’ve learned that acknowledging the past does more than uncover painful memories.
It gives us the wisdom to understand how childhood abuse, neglect, and domestic violence have shaped our lives. That understanding becomes the foundation for healing and the freedom to choose differently.
At forty-eight, an unexpected encounter with my estranged husband on a dating website became a turning point. God used that moment to stop me from running from the past.
I began writing as a way to release years of pain and unanswered questions.
As I reflected on my childhood and the years I spent in an abusive marriage, hidden memories surfaced. I wrote honestly about childhood trauma, domestic violence, and the long-lasting effects abuse had on my life.
How to Overcome Living in Fear
Do you want to stop living in fear? Fear is a powerful, gripping feeling of anxiety or apprehension about a situation or event. It’s an emotional reaction to pain, danger, and the consequences of sin. Abuse victims who live in fear are paralyzed and trapped in hopeless relationships. The desire to fight or flee diminishes as fear attacks their minds. Many don’t know how to…
How To Overcome The Abuse Victim Identity
Saying goodbye in an open letter using self-reflective writing helps you acknowledge the ill-treatment endured, process the consequences, and overcome the abuse victim identity. This is my open goodbye letter. Dear Abuse Victim, Unfortunately, you suffered ill-treatment as a child and grew up in a dysfunctional family without the parental and spiritual guidance to live an abundant life. The father who was supposed to provide…
Open Letter to Parents
I wrote this sincere “Open Letter to Parents” back in 2014. I was putting the broken pieces (called life) back together at the time. I was healing emotionally from child abuse and domestic violence and spiritually from years of living in darkness with fear. Dear Parents, I’m mad as Hell at you! The life you prepared me for was filled with turmoil, anguish, and pain. It…
A True Story About Hiding in Fear from God
This is a true story about a young boy who jumped down at a Christmas play and hid in fear from God underneath the Church Pew. A cherished memory is the year we attended a Christmas play at the Methodist church in town. My son was around six years old, and his grandparents and I took him to see a performance about the birth of Jesus.…
Are You Stumbling and Groping in the Darkness?
Humanity is like the blind, stumbling and groping in the darkness, unable to see a clear path forward due to a lack of wisdom, guidance, or understanding. The light will shine when you decide to trust in Jesus Christ, seek God with all your heart, and walk in obedience to the Word of God. The foundation of my life was not stable. It had immoral…
About
I have lived through childhood abuse and domestic violence, and I write about the wisdom that can emerge through the journey of healing—what we can understand, reclaim, and ultimately transform from what we have survived.
Start Your Journey
Childhood abuse can leave wounds that shape the way we see ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us. Our past, however, does not have to determine our future.
Through personal stories, faith-filled encouragement, practical insights, and honest reflection, Abuse Journal offers hope for adult survivors seeking healing and freedom.
More than a memoir, The Secret Darkness invites every survivor who wonders if healing is possible. It is a story of resilience, redemption, and the life-changing hope that your past does not have to define your future—and that freedom can be found beyond yesterday’s shadows.
L.M. CARLETON
Rescued by Grace