From Trafficked to Treasured

From Trafficked to Treasured
Author: Kelly R. Patterson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2018-07-27
Genre: Girls
ISBN: 9780998090931

In the quaint streets of small town USA, where neighbors are close friends and families share meals together, a young girl is snatched while walking home and savagely gang raped. Her life in the Heartland appears as it should with high grades and medals for athletics and music. However, the hidden dark shadows of her existence are only known by those who groom her as a slave for their brutal sexual cravings.These are the events that Kelly lived as a child and young adult. Shame and pain kept her silent for years. This heartbreaking account of personal survival from the sex trade industry in Heartland USA is full of hope and resilience. Kelly's journey of healing and freedom are giving her a loud voice today.From Trafficked To Treasured will help you discover how and why sex trafficking in rural America is surrounded in secrecy and is incredibly difficult to expose. It will cause you to recognize the signs of sex trafficking where you live, come alongside trafficked survivors, and become an advocate for those who are currently victims. Most importantly, if you are a victim, this book will help you get on the road to freedom. Buy this book as an essential tool in helping to understand one of the worst epidemics devastating our world today.

Stolen

Stolen
Author: Katariina PhD Rosenblatt
Publisher: Revell
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2014-09-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1441246142

Sex trafficking is currently a hot news topic, but it is not a new problem or just a problem in "other" countries. Every year, an estimated 300,000 American children are at risk of being lured into the sex trade, some as young as eight years old. It is thought that up to 90 percent of victims are never rescued. Stolen is the true story of one survivor who escaped--more than once. First recruited while staying with her family at a hotel in Miami Beach, Katariina Rosenblatt was already a lonely and abused young girl who was yearning to be loved. She fell into the hands of a confident young woman who pretended friendship but slowly lured her into a child prostitution ring. For years afterward, a cycle of false friendship, threats, drugs, and violence kept her trapped. As Kat shares her harrowing experiences, readers will quickly realize the frightening truth that these terrible things could have happened to any child--a neighbor, a niece, a friend, a sister, a daughter. But beyond that, they will see that there is real hope for the victims of sex trafficking. Stolen is more than a warning. It is a celebration of survival that will inspire.

And He Called Me Angel

And He Called Me Angel
Author: Angel Meyers
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2015-02-03
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1496967283

After leaving home in the summer of 84', I found myself knee deep in the drug scene. While there I found what would be my Savior. I did not "see" him at first; I heard him, or his boots that is. Snake skin cowboy boots with shiny silver taps, tips, and all. Just thinking about those boots now gives me a feeling I can't describe. They made a very distinct sound; like a small horse parading, not the normal kind, the ones that dance. He was very particular about his boots, matter of fact, he was very particular about everything. He had many boots and many rules. Following the rules was something I tried hard to be good at. The consequences for breaking those rules became more unpredictable and brutal over time. Easy, as he was known on the streets, was a Pimp and he said I was his Number One. My guess is now, all of us thought we were his number one. As the years went by things changed, but not for the better. I thought of escape, escaping him and everything he did. We all grew to know, death may be the only escape.

I Cried to Dream Again

I Cried to Dream Again
Author: Sara Kruzan
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2022-05-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0593315898

There is perhaps no crime more disturbing than the abuse of a child—and no court cases as upsetting as those in which juveniles who have faced abuse are tried for fighting back. In this gripping memoir Sara Kruzan, a survivor of childhood abuse and sex trafficking, tells the honest, disturbing, and ultimately empowering story of her journey from abuse to incarceration without parole for killing her abuser to finally gaining her liberation. "As someone who has worked with trafficking survivors in the developing world, I am struck by how vividly Kruzan’s memoir shows us how easily these same atrocities take place, barely noticed, beneath the sophisticated veneer of life in the U.S. A brilliant and illuminating read."—Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and author of Mighty Be Our Powers Sara is currently an advocate for the rights of incarcerated women and children, and the inspiration behind Sara’s Law, a bill currently in the House of Representative seeking to protect children of abuse from facing life sentences. "I was eleven when I first met GG. I realized later that he had to have been aware of the chaos that was my life because he played me perfectly. I was walking home after school ... I heard a red Mustang purring like a huge lion behind me as I turned onto my block. When it caught up with me, a man leaned out of the window and motioned for me to come closer. 'Hey, excuse me,' he said. I approached the window and politely and cheerfully replied, ‘Yes?’ He said, 'I’ve been noticing you a lot, and I just want to talk to you. I’m gonna go get some ice cream and go to the park. I would love for you to come and join me. We won’t be gone long. Is that okay with you?' Ice cream! I found his offer irresistible. GG leaned over and opened the passenger door, 'What’s your name? People call me GG.' 'Sara,' I said shyly.'"—from I Cried to Dream Again

The Bookshop of Secrets

The Bookshop of Secrets
Author: Mollie Rushmeyer
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2022-10-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0369719972

A collection of lost books holds the clues to her family's legacy…and her future. Hope Sparrow has mastered the art of outrunning her tragic past, learning never to stay anywhere too long and never to allow anyone control over her life again. Coming to Wanishin Falls in search of her family's history already feels too risky. But somewhere in the towering stacks of this dusty old bookshop are the books that hold Hope's last ties to her late mother—and to a rumored family treasure that could help her start over. Only, the bookshop is in shambles, and the elderly owner is in the beginning stages of dementia and can’t remember where the books lie. To find the last links to the loved ones she's lost, Hope must stay and accept help from the townsfolk to locate the treasured volumes. Each secret she uncovers brings her closer to understanding where she came from. But the longer she stays in the quaint town, the more people find their way into the cracks in her heart. And letting them in may be the greatest risk of all…

In Pursuit of Love

In Pursuit of Love
Author: Rebecca Bender
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2020-01-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0310356865

Through her own gripping story of escape from human trafficking, Rebecca Bender reveals the inner workings of the underground world of modern-day slavery and helps us learn how we can be a catalyst for change where we live. Born and raised in a small Oregon town, all-American girl Rebecca Bender was a varsity athlete and honor roll student with a promising future. Then a predator pretending to be her boyfriend lured her into a web of lies that sent her down a path she never imagined possible. For nearly six years, Rebecca was sold across the underground world of sex trafficking in Las Vegas. She was branded, beaten, told when to sleep and what to wear, and traded between traffickers. Forced into a dark sisterhood, Rebecca formed bonds with her trafficker and three other women, creating a false sense of family. During that time, God began revealing himself to her. And in the midst of her exploitation, she found the hope she needed to survive. After a federal raid, Rebecca escaped. Her life was forever changed as she felt the embrace of her heavenly Father guiding her to healing and wholeness. Rebecca soon began to use her own experiences to change the lives of others as she went back into the darkest places she had known--assisting FBI, VICE, and law enforcement across the country in some of their most difficult cases. Through Rebecca's incredible story of redemption, we remember that our past does not have to determine our destiny.

The Diary of Jasmine Grace

The Diary of Jasmine Grace
Author: Jasmine Grace Marino
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2016-12-16
Genre:
ISBN: 9781541154940

In her true story, The Diary of Jasmine Grace, this modern-day abolitionist reflects on the values and experiences that influenced her. From dating a man who would eventually sell her body, to finding redemption in the back seat of a car, Jasmine reveals the strengths, vulnerabilities and processes that changed her. She opens a door into her life as a prostitute, sharing her diary and the struggles that eventually landed her a seat in a 12-step program, a job in the anti-trafficking movement and a place in a community church. Speaking candidly about her years as a prostitute and heroin addict, Jasmine discusses how faith influenced her, and she sheds light on the road to recovery, relapse and redemption. Readers will: ∙ Understand the manipulation and mental programming in commercial sex ∙ Realize the role of the brain in addictive behaviors and recovery ∙ Learn about recovery obstacles after exiting the commercial sex trade

Scars and Stilettos

Scars and Stilettos
Author: Harmony Dust
Publisher: Monarch Books
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2009-12-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780825463099

Fear of being abandoned keeps nineteen-year-old Harmony Dust trapped in an abusive and cruel relationship. She thinks she has hit bottom--tens of thousands of dollars in debt, struggling to get by, and so controlled by her boyfriend that she doesn't protest when he begins openly sleeping around. Things can't get worse . . . until someone tells her how much money she can make as an exotic dancer. For the next three years, Harmony lives a double life as Monique, a dancer in a fully-nude strip club. Scars and Stilettos is Harmony's stark, honest, and ultimately hopeful story of how God found her in that dark, noisy place and led her out. She has since married, completed an MA in social welfare, and now leads Treasures, an organization helping women in the sex trade discover their true worth. "Harmony wrote her story so that you and your friends may get help out of whatever dark tunnel you find yourself in. I know her heart, and it is to see all of us live our lives in the very purpose for which we were created. I do want to warn you . . . once you start this book, you will not be able to put it down. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be encouraged, you will fall in love with God all over again . . . and you will want to get a copy for every person you know." --Holly Wagner, from the preface "Harmony's story is compelling evidence of how far the love of God reaches to heal broken lives and restore all that has been stolen." --Nancy Alcorn, Mercy Ministries

Diary of a Sex Trafficking Survivor

Diary of a Sex Trafficking Survivor
Author: Cara Miaverita
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9780578770802

Diary of a Sex Trafficking Survivor is a firsthand account of Cara Miaverita's experience in sexual slavery. Cara Miaverita is a former modern-day slave as well as a writer. Most people that endure this tragic state of affairs do not live to see the end of their nightmare. The millions of untold stories signify this one as a voice for the unheard. While the initial intent in writing this piece was for therapeutic purposes, this story is shared with the world with pure intentions. Through speaking her truth, awareness is spread, misconceptions are shattered, and healing ensues. Cara shares how she entered a world of exploitation, responded in the face of danger, successfully escaped the streets, eventually reclaimed her power, and flourished. Human trafficking is the fastest expanding criminal operation in the world. Diary of a Sex Trafficking Survivor is an inspirational recovery story that intends to enlighten the masses on prevalent epidemics.

Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim

Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim
Author: Bukola Oriola
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2017-10-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 099818179X

Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim is published to set others free from the bondage of modern day slavery, human trafficking, and domestic violence. It is an expose that reveals the cultural barriers that contributed to the agony suffered by the author and details the step by step process that helped her regain her freedom. This book has been used as a reference and research text and in classroom discussions at various universities and colleges, and among service providers across the United States.