|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources |
|
|
|
Breaking the Silence
| Article
# : |
16662 |
|
|
Section : |
LIFE
|
| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1989 |
3,207 Words |
| Author
: |
David L. Sims
David L. Sims is a free-lance writer and photographer living
in Milton, New Hampshire. |
Lisa Maria DaVinci's alter ego very likely saved her life. Through the eyes of "Amy," DaVinci watched herself suffer through countless episodes of sexual abuse at the hands of her father.
"I learned to leave my body, and I literally watched the abuse," she explains. Even today, at thirty-seven, DaVinci relies on Amy to buffer the past and soften the pain.
There was a time, not long ago, when alcohol, heroin, and a variety of other drugs and self-destructive behaviors served that purpose. But she's been straight for four years now and is exorcising her demons through her writing. DaVinci's first book, Don't Close Your Eyes, Read My Heart, is close to publication, according to her New York literary agent.
The book is written in Amy's voice. It has to be, for whenever DaVinci finds any bad memories creeping up on her, she turns to Amy. "I'm scared that I'll die if I feel all her feelings," says DaVinci. In her book, the brutality happened to "her," not to Lisa.
There are a lot of Lisas out there. And perhaps many Amys too. Dissociative experiences--be they separate personalities or an out-of-body experience--are a common escape mechanism for victims of sexual abuse. And such abuse is indeed common.
Although estimates vary widely depending on how sexual abuse is defined, a random national survey conducted in 1985 by the Los Angeles Times found that 22 percent of the adult population, including 27 percent of all women and 16 percent of all men surveyed,
... (1999 of 18647 Characters)
Read Full Article
|
|
