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. These stories will touch your heart. We Choose to Thrive is a work of heart with messages from women who have a story to tell. 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. Our message is to other who’ve been victims of abuse. Abuse is abuse no matter what KIND of abuse. There is no measuring device that can determine the extent to which the experience of the abuse has affected our lives. Abuse can come as sexual, emotional/mental, physical and spiritual abuse. Sexual childhood abuse seems to carry the deepest scars but truly there is no way to measure. 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. 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. 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. Leaving the sadness and pain aside, our message, 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. 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. 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, that includes 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. We hope our messages will join the many messages being shared around the world, and shine as a light for others. We hope that you too will Choose to Thrive! 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? Every moment you get is a gift. Spend it on things that matter. Don’t spend it by dwelling on unhappy things. - UNKNOWN