My name is Faith Allen. Like the lotus (water lily), my life began in the muck and mire of abuse. Through the healing process, I have found freedom from my past, and I have made it my life’s mission to make lots of lemonade from the lemons that life threw my way.
Like the lotus, I have found life beyond of the muck and mire of my beginnings. This blog is one way that I seek to bring beauty to the world, just like the lotus brings beauty to the surface of a pond. I want to encourage anyone who has been abused to know that you can find freedom, too. Your life does not have to be about your past — it can be about TODAY!
Warm wishes along your healing journey.
Feel free to e-mail Faith at faith_amom@hotmail.com.
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3/31/08 update: A woman named Faith Allen, who is also an adoptive mother and apparently a survivor of child abuse, has been in the news. She and I are not the same person. “Faith Allen” is a pen name that I chose because I had “faith” that God would help me survive the healing process. I chose Allen because my husband first chose that last name as a pen name, so I thought it would be cute to match.
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8/30/08 update: I have added a blogroll to my site. If you would like to add your blog about recovering from child abuse to my blogroll, please email me the link at faith_amom@hotmail.com. I will add your blog to my blogroll if it is a good fit for my readership.
You Go!!!!! I am so proud to know you and so proud of you. You have so much to offer and this is an amazing way for you to do it.
I will keep you posted it. I am having more good days than bad and really working to be an advocate for me the way I have for others my whole life.
Take Care and Luv Ya – Lisa
I just added Blooming Lotus to my blogroll.
Thanks, Sandra!!
- Faith
Have a nice day !
My daughters name is Faith Allen, thought I’d let you know the similarity and that you chose a name that I did. I was googling her name, as a mom, that is concerned of what might be on the internet these days. I named her that for being a single mom when she was born. Naming a human being by myself with the want to give originality with meaning. Hoping she will always have Faith in the Lord. Faith being fidelity, forever lasting. I do cherish my precise gift God give to me 16 years ago and pray he does not take it away from me or before/without me. Keep the Faith!
Thank you for sharing that. :0)
- Faith
You are testament to how fearfully and wonderfully we are made. God gave us minds and spirits that can shelter our sacred souls against even the most heinous evil. And as you bring your entire self to experience His grace, bit by bit, you are building the most beautiful evidence of His power to overcome ALL. I have known you for decades, and I love you and believe in you and support you and admire you and respect you. You are amazing. Keep walking in the light, each step a step of faith. Beautiful are the feet that bring good news…even if it’s on a virtual path.
)
Dear Faith,
Thank you for sharing your experience. It offers a level of validation I did not even know I needed.
I want to publish my story but I’m seeing how much programming went into me “never saying a word”. I’ve led a very surreal life including 12 years of military service. I want to raise awareness about RA, and its more popular institutionalized versions, and continue my healing process.
I’m low tech and still pretty terrified on some level of publishing. I like your use of the internet. I have alot to share about healing resources in the arts.
Any words of guidance?
Thanks again for your courage!
William
Thanks for your comment, William.
I would recommend starting your own blog here on WordPress. WordPress is easy to use, and you don’t have to get very technical if you don’t want to. Go to http://www.wordpress.com to get started. The service is completely free.
Choose a name for your blog. I chose faithallen.wordpress.com because I have been writing under this pen name for a long time on the internet. You don’t have to use a name. I could have named this bloominglotus.wordpress.com.
You can email me for more details. My email address is above.
Take care,
- Faith
Hi there,
Just want to say how great your blog is and its encouraged me to start my own on wordpress and start expressing what i should be!
You have been an insparation to me ! Thanks, simon
Heres my blog link!
http://kermitmuppet.wordpress.com/
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
You are amazing. You’ve covered topics I never had the opportunity (and likely never thought) to approach with my own clients. And some I never thought about for myself. Am working my way through them now. Being able to share your insights into such topics shows how far you’ve come on your healing journey. Bless you for having this blog. It’s my favorite place to send survivors for more information on healing. Namaste.
I just found your blog and read your latest regarding Oprah’s show and the 1738 bill. I cannot stop my tears out of frustration and helplessness, I am praying that the bill will pass and that good people will awaken from their indifference. I have contacted my senator, I have spread the word, I have a little girl and I am so filled with hate toward these predators and toward those in power who can help and let other agendas in the way. The billions of $$$$ spent in war…. geez. There should be a war against this dark evil growing right on our homeland. Thank you Faith for your blog and circulating hope and light and passion to act. Children are not to be sacrificed indeed. What more can we do?
I love that you are making lemonade with the lemons life threw your way. Love to you
Thank you!!
- Faith
i dont know how this works so please leave a message where i can find, first your a hero and a walking angel, you bring light and courage whereever you go. but i notice theres only one site that talks about a very hard subject, animal rape and thats here, mine i thought was a very, very bad and unuasal case. all type of abuse imaginable and brutal, thats me. i only found your website last night so i dont know where what is. but i need some very much needed advice, im still a teenager and all this ended only two years ago but only lasted a year and a half ago. but now its hitting me so hard, im so ashamed and embarassed.considering what i went though i got lucky, first im alive(cant always say that though) and i dont havehuge promblems(well mabey) i know i go wierd and such and there might be somthing big but just dont know anyway piont it how can i get over this i seem to get some out by talking but no one i know isnt even close to my field but i dont say all . for exsample if you got beat, i can talk with you about. but some never gets brung up except for a friend a brother and a school nurse and only the nurse lets me talk for two seconds without saying overload i want to talk to people like me so badly i need some advise and sorry if this dont go though here i dont know this site please let others see this and come to the aid of a slowly mentaly detairerating kid.and two more things you should have links to other sites that are way hard to find(animal rape) you probily do but dont know the website and is it okay sometimes when i think of theses things i cant bring myself to cry i feel horrible but dont show no emotion but a sad look, okay im done just please get others to help talk to me, people like me, i already feel dumb and embrassed by this, praticaly begging, sorry once i get started i cant stop, have a good day and god bless you.
back again to correct myself, i get worked up and not really type right it lasted a year and a half,but it was soooooo brutal, and i dont know the website, might come off has you dont know the site (that dont make since but still) and one more question since im here i got beat bad but he was smart about it, well everything he did was very careful but not to me hard to describe, is it possible that my family and friend notice but didnt say anything, the nurse says i was a great actor but how could they not know not that i acted weird in front of them just i dont know i feel they just should have known
Hi John Doe!
I am so sorry that you know that pain of animal rape. I am not sure why there are not many online resources for healing from animal rape.
A great place to talk about animal rape is over at Isurvive: http://www.isurvive.org. It is a message board for people who are healing from child abuse of all forms. I have talked about my experiences there, and others have talked about their experiences with animal rape as well.
I would recommend talking about the animal rape in the “Ritualized Abuse” forum because that is the forum where people talk about the most severe forms of abuse. However, it would also be appropriate to talk about animal rape in the Sexual Abuse forum or the “Stories” forum.
Just be sure to include a trigger warning in the title like this “*** animal rape triggers ***.” This warns people who are triggered by animal rape stories to be careful when reading your post.
I, too, wonder how the people in my life could not have known about my abuses. Of course, my mother knew since she was responsible. I think my father knew but didn’t want to know, so he just denied it. As for others, I don’t know how I could have been abused so severely for so long without anyone noticing. I suspect that some people did know but did not know what to do about it.
Hang in there.
- Faith
This is a wonderful place full of fantastic information. I am so glad that I found you as I relate to you so much! I have recovered from DID also, what an amazing journey, and it continues to be. I will be back!
Faith, I love your blog. I found an article recently that you wrote on ehow and it inspired a blog post. I have linked back accordingly. Keep up the good work!
BTC
Hi Faith, I’ve googled our name for a while and also want to adopt.
You seem like you know what is important in life, despite circumstance. This importance is happiness.
Well done for finding it.
Faith
Wow — Another Faith Allen!! Nice to meet you. :0)
Feel free to check out my professional blog about adoption: http://www.ouradopt.com.
Take care,
- Faith
I’ve just read your article on eHow, and decided to browse through your blog for the post you’ve mentioned!
I don’t want to say much about anything, as my mind still tries to process what I have just read!
Welcome to my blog!!
- Faith
Dear Faith,
Its CW here from isurvive. I deeply admire your courage and what you are doing with this site and your blog.
Thanks for crossing my path. You left a trail of light and wisdom behind for me to gaze on when the blinds go down on my soul.
Keep up this amazing work!
Welcome to my blog, CW!!
- Faith
Faith,
I just happened upon your blog, the posts I have read are incredibly transparent and honest, something I value. while my childhood was a happy one, I know that many others need resources like this to help them heal and find a ray of light in the darkness. There is no way that I can read many of your posts just because I feel that this site is for those that need healing and not for casual blog reading.
Blessings,
JasonTheBaldGuy
After a very physically and emotionally abusive childhood which left me with anxiety disorders, I went off to study spiritual disaplines which saved me. I returned 30 years later as no one would look after my parents who were about 90 years old. I returned to find that there were exactly the same. My father apologized right before he died, but my mother is still constantly running the same infuriating patterns on me bringing up a lot of old anger.
Your writing is delightful and so helpful! What kind of therapy helped you process the anger ?
My mother is lost in her mental and emotional trickery. I tryed to help her but she is obviously empowered in her ego by arguing and fighting off anything that would help.
Keep up the GREAT work!
Welcome to my blog, John.
Look on the categories list under Emotions. I have written about how I learned to process anger.
Take care,
- Faith
I added you to my blogroll. I felt it necessary to have a source of strength of positivity as I begin working through years and years of my own negativity.
Thanks for adding me to your blogroll. :0)
Wishing you peace along your healing journey.
- Faith