Angela Williams describes how her life has changed since she was the victim of childhood abuse as “a 40-year journey I’ve been on.”
She’s shared her story as an advocate for those who’ve gone through similar ordeals, helping them to learn how to reach out for support.
The East Cobb resident is the author of several books on the subject, including an initial memoir, “From Sapphires to Sorrows,” which explained how she began climbing out of her situation.
But Williams admits she’s long been haunted by the challenges of living with what happened to her, even as she continues to guide fellow victims to develop resiliency for a lifetime.
Last week, she published another memoir, “Loving Me: After Abuse,” which she says is a deeper, even more personal telling of the path out of abuse, with the aim of it being “a self-help guide.”
She held a book launch last week at the DK Art Gallery in Marietta and on Sept. 30 will be leading a “Time to Heal” Conference in Woodstock.
For 14 years, starting at the age of three, Williams was the victim of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. She said 93 percent of abusers are people their victims “know and trust.”
Williams said coming to terms with the emotional as well as physical pain of being abused hasn’t been easy to confront, but after a conversation with a friend she decided she needed to do just that in her latest book.
In order to truly help others even more, Williams realized she had to make herself even more vulnerable in sharing her story.
“It’s about wanting to live a life where you’re not tormented,” Williams said in a recent interview with East Cobb News. “It’s about walking in a life where you’re living to your fullest potential.”
Even as she went all-in on helping fellow survivors, including getting a degree in forensic psychology, Williams said “it took many years” for her to feel that she was truly moving in that direction.
In the book, Williams details “the amount of shame and feeling so unlovable” that led to a suicide attempt at the age of 17.
It left her homeless, and she persevered with her work ethic, and as a young adult got married and had children (who attended Pope High School and the University of Georgia).
“I worked on burying it,” Williams said of her memories of being abused. “It felt like holding a beach ball under water 24/7. I tried to mask it, but I wasn’t healthy.
“I wasn’t the wife and mother I wanted to be.”
She said she underwent “intense counseling” after thinking about suicide again—Williams said she never attempted to carry it out—and in her 30s, began to feel the clouds lifting.
“I learned to give myself grace,” Williams said. “I really built my faith in God.”
Her advocacy led to the creation of Angela’s Voice, which provides resources for the awareness, prevention and healing of child sexual abuse.
They include workbooks to teach children to defend themselves against abusive behavior, and she conducts support groups for survivors.
Williams has taken her message to schools, non-profits, faith communities and medical offices, and is developing more curricula.
“It’s about helping survivors to heal,” Williams said, adding that only one in 10 people who are abused will ever tell anyone about it.
“I hope that my book will give them the hope that they need,” Williams said.
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