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\nComment by Amy on 21 Aug 2009 at 1:27 am<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
Thank you so much for answering my questions\u2026re your name change for privacy-I did read that part in the book, I was just wondering why Dr Baer hadn\u2019t addressed the \u201cfaux\u201d alter aspect\/concern\/etc specifically \u2026.I am very much looking forward to your follow up book. Maybe I missed it but when did your mother pass and what kind of relationship did you have with her after your ending treatment?<\/span><\/p>\n
My boyfriend started reading your book last night\u2026he watched me cry thru it and looked at me puzzled from time to time. He read through the whole night and finally fell asleep around 4am at the Merging Claire chapter. He also is left shaking his head in disbelief at what you have come back from. <\/span><\/p>\n
What the goodness did you say when you threatened your father and grandfather??? OMG!<\/span><\/p>\n
Your \u201clack\u201d of pregnancy was such a blessing!!!! I work in women\u2019s health so the whole time I was reading, in the back of my mind I kept saying to myself \u201cplease dont let her get pregnant-OH GOD pleeeeease!!!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
What has it been like for you hearing, reading and seeing the effect your story has one others? Overwhelming? Empowering? Nerve racking?<\/span><\/p>\n
Aside from your follow up book, have you ever considered writing a children\u2019s book? I for one would buy it for my 11 yr old daughter and pass on the sacredness of you sharing your story.<\/span><\/p>\n
You are such amazing woman and you have truly inspired me. Thank you so much again\u2026your openness is yet other miracle.<\/span><\/p>\n
Much love Ms Overhill\u2026\u2026.much love<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Dear Amy,<\/span><\/p>\n
I understand what you are asking. I know it may seem strange that I need to write as Karen rather than my own self. However, we are one and the same. No split or multiple personality anymore! <\/span>I\u2019m just one person hoping to keep my privacy away from public view. It’s hard not to share, but my privacy is necessary so that I can live in peace. Thank you for\u00a0being concerned.<\/span><\/p>\n
I appreciate your wishing to read a follow-up book. It may take a few years for that to become a possibility. I hope Dr. Baer and I can work together again, too! <\/span><\/p>\n
My mother\u00a0did not pass away. She is alive and well and has\u00a0more energy in her seventies than I do. <\/span>My mother doesn’t know there is a book, but she knows that I\u00a0write all the time. <\/span>She\u2019s never once asked what I write about. <\/span>My mother\u00a0has shared enough memories not only to complete my story\u00a0but also to write her own.\u00a0Like me, my mother never forgets anything that\u2019s happened to her. <\/span>There was no reason for me to share Switching Time with her. It would be hard for her to be confronted with my abuse. She definitely knew much but never once came to rescue or help me. <\/span>She would just ignore or dismiss the facts. If\u00a0my mother should one day read the book, she won’t deny anything. Most likely she will talk and talk and add her\u00a0own extended versions of my story, which would turn into her story. My mother is a narcissist.\u00a0It’s always about her.<\/span><\/p>\n
Thanks for asking what I said to warn off my grandfather and father. I believe you are the first to ask. It happened to be\u00a0during my freshman year in high school. During a health class I discovered that all that had happened to me didn’t happen to all girls. Until that point I thought it was normal for all girls\u00a0to be\u00a0treated that way by their fathers and relatives. My father used religion and God’s word to keep me compliant so that he could abuse me. I believed that all fathers raped their daughters. <\/span>At the time I had no idea that what I experienced was rape. Remember, I attended a small private Catholic school with a graduation class of less than twenty students.\u00a0\u00a0Sex and rape\u00a0were never discussed.<\/span><\/p>\n
Once I realized the truth and there was a name for it, I knew I was different. I felt devastated and quickly switched. I also knew there was a new baby girl living in the same apartment building I lived in. I feared for that little girl. <\/span>My grandparents were actually babysitting for her,\u00a0and I made my threat accordingly. I started by saying that I knew what they did to me was wrong and it will stop. I also\u00a0added that if I ever found out that they touched this baby girl, I would kill them. Soon, my grandparents stopped babysitting altogether. Of course, I couldn’t actually kill anyone, but at that moment they knew I meant business. I continued to be physically abused by them but the sexual abuse stopped abruptly that day.<\/span><\/p>\n
I agree it’s a miracle that I never became pregnant. Thank you, God! <\/span>Although as a young girl in early puberty, my body changes left me believing that I could be\u00a0pregnant at times. It was such a horrible experience waiting, hoping, and praying that I wasn’t.<\/span><\/p>\n
When Switching Time first came out I was overwhelmed with sharing my story. I felt exposed. I spent many restless nights wondering how people would react to the horror I suffered. My only sense of calm came from believing my story would help others.\u00a0As time went on, I felt empowered. I became a bit stronger each day. My faith came from believing that my story was meant to be told. In a way, sharing has been therapeutic. I’ve been quite amazed that there have been more positive feelings in sharing\u00a0than negative ones. I’ve been blessed.<\/span><\/p>\n
It’s interesting that you mention my writing children’s books. Yes, I have written many stories that would help young children understand life through my\u00a0eyes. I haven’t published or submitted these stories yet, but\u00a0they are written and waiting.\u00a0I believe I can add inspiration for\u00a0children. Most of my children\u2019s friends still keep in contact with me; they love to hear my stories. I must have hundreds of them. <\/span>Somehow I understand exactly what most children want and what they need to hear.\u00a0I love to write. <\/span>Thanks for believing that I can accomplish writing a children\u2019s book. I’ll let you know.<\/span><\/p>\n
Thank you so much for all your compliments! I truly appreciate you sharing them. I also appreciate that your boyfriend is reading the book. I would love to hear his thoughts, too!<\/span><\/p>\n
Have a great day!<\/span><\/p>\n
Karen <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Comment by Amy on 21 Aug 2009 at 1:27 am Thank you so much for answering my questions\u2026re your name change for privacy-I did read that part in the book, I was just wondering why Dr Baer hadn\u2019t addressed the \u201cfaux\u201d alter aspect\/concern\/etc specifically \u2026.I am very much looking forward to your follow up book. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-answers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1314"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1317,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314\/revisions\/1317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}