Forever Angels

Not every child abuse case has to end in tragedy. Read the amazing stories of people that were abused, and survived to tell their story!

NOTE: We don't have stories for every survivor, but it is still good information to know infamous and famous survivors of child abuse.

Dave Pelzer is possibly one of the most well-known child abuse survivors ever. He is mostly known for for his book, A Child Called "It", telling his story of abuse at the hands of his mother. Even though he has written many other books, it seems that A Child Called "It" is the most memorable of them all.

Dave was born in 1960, and was abused as a young boy. He stated several times in A Child Called "It" that his mother refused to feed him, and that his brothers were treated nicely, while he was not. Dave also stated that has was stabbed, and was forced to sleep in a garage, (instead of a warm, comfortable bed like his siblings) and was forced to drink ammonia. In the book, Dave states that his father never abused him, but he did nothing to help him, either. It was not until his teachers stood up for him in 1973 that the then 12-year-old Dave was placed in foster care.

In 1979, he joined the Air Force, and soon became and author. Though his younger brother says that Dave was not completely truthful with his writings, Dave said several times in his book that his brothers paid very little attention to him. But Dave's teachers and other brother support him and say that he wrote the truth. He has won many awards, and has written over 7 books.

Laveraneus hid his dark past due to being too proud of his football accomplishments. He was sexually abused as a young boy by his step-father. He stated that he was molested from ages 10-13 by the man his mother soon married. His step-father was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Cole's mother divorced after having knowledge about what was happening. His step-father only served 3 1/2 years of his sentence, but due to other crimes he has commited, he has been in jail since 2001.

Even though he said it was a deep burden to him before, Coles says that he talks about it often with his mother, and is not afraid of what others may say about him because of it.

Known for her poetry and writings, Maya was only 8-years-old when the unthinkable happened. She was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend. He said he didn't mean to hurt her, and told Maya to tell no one. But, she did tell. She told her brother of what happened to her. her brother told the rest of the family, and Mr. Freeman, her mother's boyfriend, was found guilty. But he was only in jail for one day before being released! Four days after his release, he was found kicked to death, probably by Maya's uncles. After his death, she was so convinced that her words had taken a person's life that she was mute for 5 years.

She recovered though, even after many other struggles. She has become a well-known author and poet, being a proud nominee of the Pulitzer Prize, among many other awards.

Even though Oprah is known for living the "good life" nowadays and having her own TV show, her life wasn't so great when she was young. She spent the first 6 years of her life living in poverty. She wore dresses made of potato sacks, and children often made fun of her because of it. If she didn't do her chores, her grandmother would take a swtich and hit her with it. She stated that she had been raped by a male cousin, and later molested by her uncle, and a family friend at the age of 9. She told no one of the abuse, until much later in life. She kept the anger inside, and often ran away or got into trouble.

After being unable to be sent to a detention home, she was sent to live with her father. She did not stop her wild behavior, and soon became pregnant at age 14. After the death of her baby, she vowed to turn her life around.

In 1986, Oprah started the Oprah Winfrey Show. And the rest, as it seems now, is history. She is heading places and has been heading places for a long time. And not even sexual abuse stopped her.

Teri Hatcher is an American actress, mostly known for her role on Desperate Housewives. But, in 2006, she revealed a deeply hidden secret about how she was abused.

After learning in 2002 about a 14-year-old victim of her uncle's sexual abuse commitng suicide, she told Vanity Fair about how her uncle sexually abused her at the tender age of 5. She was afraid that her uncle would get away with sexually abusing the girl unless she spoke up. After she came forward, her uncle pleaded guilty to 4 counts of child molestation, and he was sentenced 14 years in prison.

She stated that her uncle would often try to manipulate situations involving Teri so that he could be alone with her in his car. She had complicated feelings of the abuse. She did not see her uncle after she was 9-years-old, and though she never told her parents, she believes that they suspected something.

Long after the abuse, Teri has won many awards for her acting, and presented at the Women's World Awards in 2006.

Suzanne's present and future seem great, but her past was anything but. Her father was an alcoholic, and he was violent. Her father would physically and verbally abuse her, and she said that she lived most of her childhood in fear. Her father forced her to hide in a closet often, but not much is publicly known about the abuse she went through.

But one night, she hit her father over the head with a tennis racket to defend herself from his abuse, and he suffered a concussion. He did not speak to her for 2 years. Suzanne had to go through therapy because of how the abuse affected her as she got older.

But she rose above her struggles, and is now an actress, author, and buisnesswoman.