Title: I Am the Product of Rape – A Memoir
Author: Catherine Wyatt-Morley and Jalyon Welsh-Cole
Publisher: Four Pillers Media Group
ISBN: 978-0996624206
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 196
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott
Pacific Book Review
Only twelve when she first gave birth after repeated violent, hate-filled sexual attacks by her stepfather, Angela became a rejected foster child. Her birth mother was complicit in the attacks because she knew about them but refused to say anything for fear of losing the luxurious lifestyle that her villainous husband offered her. Together they formulated a lie about the paternity of Angela’s child and seemingly without a tear gave her up for adoption. The “product” of that heinous series of events, Wyatt-Morley, co-author of this disturbing memoir, was finally adopted by nurturing parents, but when her suspicion about being adopted was confirmed, her foster mother’s lies about her birth mother discouraged her from digging deeper.
But in adulthood, following what seemed like an impossible quest, Wyatt-Morley finally made contact with Angela, who readily poured out the story of her abuse as a young child. A mother-daughter relationship was forged that became a saving grace for the author. However, Wyatt-Morley later learned to her horror that her own daughter, co-author Welsh-Cole, had been systematically abused sexually by her own brother, a pattern that seemed to confirm a shadow across the family history, a shadow that only time, forgiveness, active healing and faith in God would gradually dispel.
Wyatt-Morley presents the harrowing tale that forms the larger part of the book; her vivid descriptions of little Angela’s sufferings are woefully dramatic, including first being raped and later giving birth on the floor of a filthy basement. Wyatt-Morley has found comfort and a new direction through her activist lifestyle, and Welsh-Cole, who contributes her story in the last third of the book, has joined in her outreach. Wyatt-Morley is the founder and CEO of WOMEN (Women On Maintaining Education and Nutrition) and both are creators and facilitators of #HealingSecretHurts workshops.
The creators of this exposé of familial guilt present a laudable combination of writing skill and determination to spread their message: if you have been abused, it is not your fault; cycles of abuse and oppression can be broken and need not scar future generations. They express in numerous ways their sincere wish to help other women avoid the kinds of torments they have faced, and to offer solace, hope and courage to those who have experienced similar outrages. This is a must-have book for survivors, friends and families of survivors, and educators.
