In the pages of this book you will find the stories of 31 amazing women who have the love, the heart, the courage and the wisdom to share their stories with you. While we mention what happened to us, we don’t dwell there. We talk about what we have done and what we are currently doing to be well adjusted, happy and productive. We’ve done our healing work for ourselves first and foremost and as we began to heal, that seeped out to our families, our communities, our countries and our world. We also know that it takes constant attention to our thoughts and feelings as there can be triggers of memory that can threaten to derail our efforts. Each of us has been a victim of abuse, some beginning in childhood, others later on as adults with domestic violence or even rape. You will find stories from sea to shining sea…Shannon from Australia, Michele from New York, Sylvia with roots in Guatemala, women from all around Canada and the U.S. You will discover that the perpetrators of abuse do not respect ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, or religious backgrounds. Abuse is abuse no matter what kind, and there is no measuring device that can predict the impact it has on the victim, no matter how significant or insignificant the abuse may seem. These stories will touch your heart. What we know is that the statistics are disgusting and highly inaccurate. We know that you can fill a room with people and talk on this subject, and often over half the room will acknowledge having had an experience that affected them deeply. This is indeed sad and heart wrenching. What we all have in common is our deep desire to share with abuse survivors around the world that they too can heal, that they are NOT alone. We share our journey, the resources and most of all the mindset that we needed to adopt to achieve the rich and happy lives we are now living. It truly is a journey. Leaving sadness aside, our message, and the recurring theme of this book is to share that you too can thrive. It begins with a decision. It begins with a choice. It begins with the courage to SPEAK UP, STAND UP, FIND YOUR TRUTH, and COMMAND YOUR OWN INNER POWER. We acknowledge the darkness that colored our world, but above it all we want you to know that you can rise above the past and live now, with deep joy and happiness. You can live rich, full and productive lives. We each decided to BE the change so needed in our world. In this book you will find women from all walks of life, different nationalities, different economic situations and you will hear our common thread. Abuse respects no boundaries. But then neither does the choice to heal, to thrive. We Choose to Thrive is our message of inspiration and hope to all survivors…that you too can thrive. Each woman shares her favorite resources that she tapped into to heal. She shares her mindset, she shares her heart, and her willingness to speak her story so that others can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are not alone and that they too can heal. Our deep desire is that you will see and feel the light behind each woman that has had the love and the courage to share and that you will let it reach your heart. We encourage you to share this with others, both women and men. While statistics are many and varied, a rough estimate is one out of three girls and one out of 5 boys have encountered childhood sexual abuse, which does not even address the other kinds of abuse. We know many have gone to their grave without ever telling their story. We know that much of the brokenness in our world, including drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, self mutilation and other abuses stem from a heart that has not been able to recover from the pain. Will you step up and make a choice to thrive? Are you willing to do what it takes? Are you willing to change your focus? We’ve all heard the saying, What you focus on expands. Are you ready to focus on healing and thriving?