Maria Shriver

Lauren Book

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Blog Posts

• August 26, 2011

  Tips for Transformation

  

  4 Steps to Overcome Adversity and Find your Voice

  “You get up again because the alternative sucks.”

  That quote is one of my favorites, because it is so true about my life and the lives of so many other victims of abuse who fight every day to overcome their tragedies.

  My abuse started when I was eleven years old when my new nanny, Waldina Flores – “Waldy” to me – walked into my family’s life. For six years, she sexually, physically and emotionally abused me right under my parent’s noses –- in my own house. The abuse continued every day, 24/7. I felt like I would never escape the hidden life Waldy had created for me, but I eventually found my voice.