Diamond in the Dark: Leaving the Shadow of Abuse

(Hardback)

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Description

A blond, green-eyed child of a Marine sent home from WWII suffering from acute brain trauma, Phyllis Hain frankly chronicles her struggle to survive devastating domestic violence and spousal abuse by creating two personas -- one for the darkness of home, the other for the brilliance of life. This fascinating journey of an abuse survivor and national advocate will not just steal readers' hearts but leave an indelible, searing mark on readers' minds ...and on society at large. More specifically, Phyllis' captivating story will serve as a superb guide to abuse (child, spousal, pet, etc.) because readers will be able to see themselves in her story. The professional analysis at the end of the book adds quite a lot and provides a great amount of fodder for spousal abuse support groups (and others) to discuss. Whether it is mental, physical, or sexual abuse, Diamond in the Dark relates to them all. Diamond in the Dark can help many to heal, or even help abuse victims to speak up.

Reviews

Diamond in the Dark is a gripping, unceasingly honest story of her life. - Florida Network of Childrens Advocacy WOW! What a fascinating story! So many twists and turns it makes the average TV movie-of-the-week look humdrum by comparison. -Jeff Weeks, Host, Conversations with Jeff Weeks, PBS in Pensacola, Florida Who you are born to and who you marry are inherently linked. Strike it lucky in the birth department, grow up in a family where you are valued and loved, and your chance of choosing a partner who also values and loves you improves markedly. This didnt happen to Phyllis Hain, the writer of a remarkably honest memoir, Diamond in the Dark: Leaving the Shadow of Abuse, which shines a light on an area that no one wants to talk or do anything about-domestic violence. It reinforces the fact that physical and sexual abuse in a family unit, no matter what the circumstances, is never acceptable, only criminal. Diamond in the Dark is the sad but always optimistic and inspiring journey of a courageous woman who stumbles, falls, and stumbles again, to rise up and walk tall. Bravo, Phyllis. Good life, good read. -MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW About halfway through this book, I decided I had to keep reading till the end. Very well done. Fascinating, and also enlightening. Thanks for sharing your story. Five out of five stars. An unexpected gem. -APRIL S. MYERS, CO-OWNER, SPINNING EGG BOOKS, GIG HARBOR, WA I have known Phyllis Hain in a professional capacity for almost three years. Her book is an incredible memoir it is honest, it is compelling, and it reads like a good murder mystery! But, to anyone working in the field of child protection and advocacy, the book means so much more. Woven in between the engaging narrative is the story of a victim finding her voice; of a person reflecting on her experiences and realizing the impact a childhood of victimization can have. Phylliss life, as described in Diamond in the Dark, reads like a textbook description of abuse left untreated the reliance on male attention to compensate for living through family violence at an early age, teen pregnancy, unhealthy relationships, and the pattern of keeping it all in Thankfully, Phyllis chose a career that helped her to understand and reflect on where she had come from and now, where she can go. -STACEY KOSTEVICKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GULF COAST KID'S HOUSE, INC., WHOSE MISSION IS TO FACILITATE THE INVESTIGATION, PROSECUTION, AND TREATMENT OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT AND PROMOTE CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AWARENESS THROUGH COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Author Bio

Phyllis Hain was born in Alabama and grew up in the Gulf Coast of Florida. During twenty-one years of work as a U.S. Navy Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) and a Family Advocacy Educator, she taught well over 20,000 students. Working alongside military and community law enforcement, she helped educate first-responders on how to properly document incidents and how to provide sensitive, effective treatment and support to victims of sexual assault. She responded to hundreds, if not thousands, of victims in crisis - all during a career in which she received hundreds of hours of training in the field of domestic violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual assault and victim intervention, and the correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence. Highlights of Phylliss DoD service include: working on the National Joint Task Force in Washington DC, which studied the problem of sexual assault in the military; working with the National Organization for Victims Assistance; serving as Vice President of Northwest Floridas Victim Coalition; and being selected NASPs Civilian of the Year for her contribution to the Sexual Assault Victim Intervention Program. Inspired by interviewing, and responding to, many courageous victims and survivors of abuses, she decided to undergo what turned out to be the multi-year ordeal of writing a memoir about her own tumultuous life as the victim of child abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, and spousal abuse.