Tears of the Silenced
Misty Griffin
Author Bio
It has been ten years since Misty left the Amish. She was shunned (outcast) after she refused to recant her police report against the Amish bishop who sexually assaulted her. Calling the police is completely forbidden among the Amish. She is the survivor of horrific child abuse and hopes to inspire people with her life’s story. It is her sincere wish to show people that no matter what you have been through in life the impossible is possible. Her life’s story proves this motto.
When Misty left the Amish she had a bare second grade education and suffered severe PTSD caused by the horrifying abuse she suffered as a child and later at the hands of the Amish bishop.Today, ten years later she is a nursing student, wife and a Child abuse/Sexual assault awareness activist.
Misty has been a fan of the written word since she was a small child and while still in the Amish she wrote for the small news paper. She has also written poetry and songs that reflect life’s big question.
– I mourn my stolen childhood, it is like an amputated leg, I can feel where it was supposed to be but it is not there, it is a phantom, cut away without my consent and is now lost forever…. …Misty Griffin-Author of Tears of the Silenced.
Description
One freezing morning in early March I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. I was a frightened Amish girl with no where to go, a second grade education and no ID or social security card…… Based on the authors tragic true life story.
When I was six years old my family started to live and dress like the Amish. My sister and I were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where we were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse and extreme physical violence. My step-father kept a loaded rifle by the door at all times and we were to terrified to try to escape.We knew that no rescue would ever come because only a couple of people even knew we existed and they did not know us well enough to care.
In my late teens my parents feared we would escape and took us to an Amish community where we were adopted and became baptized members.I was devastated to once again find myself in a world of fear, animal cruelty and sexual abuse. Going to the police was forbidden. A couple of years later a friend starved herself to death. She had been raped and silenced by the church and it was just more than she could handle. She stopped talking permanently and refused anything. A few months later she died, I was devastated but at a loss, my hands were tied but I began wondering how these things could be allowed.Would I really go to hell if I left the Amish?
One morning I was sexually assaulted by the bishop, I knew I had to get help and one freezing morning in early March I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. When I refused to recant my police report I was excommunicated from the Amish and found myself plummeted into the strange modern world with only a second grade education and no ID or social security card.
To all abuse survivors out there, Please be encouraged, the cycle of abuse can be broken. Today, ten years later, I am a nursing student working towards my Masters degree and a child abuse awareness activist.This is my story…….
This author was among the top 100 in December and is currently an Amazon Kindle Unlimited All Star Winner
Book excerpt
Prologue for Tears Of The Silenced
“There are moments when even to the sober eye of reason, the world of our sad humanity may assume the semblance of Hell.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
THE Bishop was on top of me, his hand was under my night dress. The early morning sunlight was peeking through the window in my bedroom; the rays of sunshine were bright and danced off the various objects in the room. I gasped in fright. His face was menacing and I was filled with terror and confusion. I started to fight but he pinched my breast hard and held me down. I struggled, but he was stronger.
I was Amish and I knew that even if I reported this ordeal to the Amish ministers the bishop would only get a six week sentence for his crimes. He would be placed in the Bann during which a church member is set apart from all social activities in the church. They are still, however, allowed to stay at home and interact with their families. They must eat at a table separate from all baptized family members and are not allowed to attend any social gatherings other than church for six weeks.
I winced as I felt his hand travel up my night dress. I remember thinking that no matter what he did, he would most likely still only get the six week Bann. In the worst and most rare cases the Bann could last for a year, but that only happened when someone refused to follow the Ordnung (church rules), not when he committed a crime.
After a few seconds, the Bishop pulled the pillow away and looked into my face, I struggled to scream but I was so scared and could not utter a word. I was most terrified of getting pregnant as a result of the rape. I had long been trapped in this society and felt there was no way that I could bring a child into it.
Many people might raise their eyebrows and remark, “The Amish childhood is the ideal childhood, so innocent and carefree,” That morning, as the Bishop put the pillow over my face again, my life became anything but innocent and carefree; my determination not to bring a child into this society was sealed within the terror of that moment.
My refusal to bring a child into the Amish culture had nothing to do with the strict and oppressive rules of the church, but everything to do with the unspoken law that silences abuse victims. This practice takes place when a child or adult is raped or molested and the matter goes before the church. The predator is placed in the Bann for six weeks, and the victims are told they must never speak of the matter again since the predator has repented and to continue to speak of the matter would be unforgiving. If the victim continues to speak of this not-so-uncommon crime, they are punished and forced to comply.