….Not only was Liz raped, but she was blindsided. One spring day, 21 years after the assault, she received a letter in her mailbox from her rapist. He was making amends as part of a 12-step program for alcoholism, and he was asking her for forgiveness. Her initial thought was that she had forgiven him a long time ago. But had she really forgiven?
At the time of receiving the letter, she had one child, and she knew that she was making herself happy and joyful to be a good mother and raise a happy child. She knew she was faking it until she made it. She had this child that she had to be a great mother to, and she had a husband that she had to be a wife to, and she had a career that she had to be responsible to. She knew stuff was going on inside her and that there was still some healing to do. Her fate was to receive this letter when she was heading out on holiday. She was forced to deal with it. She sat on the letter for a while. As she found out more surprising details surrounding the rape, she knew that she couldn’t let it go. Her state of Virginia did not have a statute of limitations on rape, so she sought legal action.
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