Authors Potter & Kshir; Become Partners to Halt Abuse:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) September 15, 2009 -- Authors Donna M. Kshir (Pennsylvania) and Sandra Potter (Michigan) are outraged over the domestic violence epidemic overwhelming our society.

Their goal is to make the general public aware domestic violence is not a game and it's definitely no joke. It is deadly for all parties involved.

Kshir and Potter combined their talents by writing a series of books based on personal experiences, extensive research and firsthand knowledge of the turmoil, trauma and life-long effects abuse can have on your life. If the public is properly educated it may help to stop this violent epidemic plaguing our nation.

The first release of their domestic violence series, "Unnecessary Roughness: Til death do us part..."

"It was the day all hell broke loose.

"It began one summer afternoon when three-year old Danica and Alice had returned home from the grocery store later than expected. They had been gone for over an hour and Eddie was furious and sloppy drunk again. He had instructed them to quickly run his errands and return home within twenty minutes since the market was just around the corner. Eddie was out of cigarettes and needed his fix.

"As soon as they walked through the back door, Eddie grabbed Alice by her arm and slammed her against the wall violently causing her to hit her head. The shelf above her came crashing down to the ground breaking into pieces. She slumped to the floor as the room started to spin.

"As she laid there helpless, Eddie stood over top of her shouting and kicking her in the ribs with his steel toed work boots. Alice cried out in pain, but Eddie only became more and more outraged. He demanded to know where the hell his cigarettes were. He could have cared less that his daughter was scared to death and cowering behind the door.

"As a young and innocent Danica ran to the aid of her mother, she too paid the price at the hands of her father. He grabbed Danica around the waist and flung her across the room. Danica was petrified and began crying hysterically which only aggravated Eddie even more. He had a look of disgust written all over his face. He turned towards his wife, spit on her and stomped out of the room. Alice quickly crawled over to Danica trying to console her the best she could. She cuddled Danica in her arms, rocking her back and forth. Nothing like this had ever happened before, but from this day forward, the abuse pattern escalated as Eddie became more demanding, violent and out-of-control.

"Danica Johnson grew up in an extremely violent home. Her mother was married to a man who did everything in his power to hurt her mentally, physically, sexually and even financially. They were both victims of violent abuse and had no where else to go. As years went by, Danica quickly learned to be seen and not heard. She also knew she didn't have a choice or a voice in the matter.

"Danica repeatedly watched as her mother bent over backwards for Eddie on a daily basis; cleaning the house, cooking, baking and trying to be the perfect wife and mother to please her father in hopes of avoiding an unwanted confrontation, but it was never enough. Eddie was never fully satisfied unless he was in charge of the situation or in complete control. As time went by, Alice was eventually putty in Eddie's hands.

"Eddie was a very possessive, controlling and jealous man. He managed to cut Alice and Danica entirely off from their family and friends. He ruled with an iron fist. His biggest fear was Alice or Danica would slip up and talk about what was really happening behind closed doors. Eddie viewed this as a threat and he demanded seclusion and insisted they cut all ties immediately. Their house would never be considered a home again as they spent the next thirteen years living in total hell, fear and agony.

"But, the day came when Danica and Alice finally managed to somehow escape Eddie's hold and her parents eventually divorced. Following the divorce, Alice tried to pick of the pieces of her life and move forward, but it was easier said than done. Alice went from one bad relationship to the next. She repeatedly tried to find love and happiness, only to be rejected many times. After years of abuse, Alice's self-esteem was now at an all time low and she allowed men to walk all over her.

"Alice slowly lost herself and her personal identity. She didn't know how to act or respond to a man, as she only knew violence, anger, pain and rage at the hands of her husband. Their nasty divorce had caused Alice to become extremely bitter against everyone; including Danica. It's hard enough to start over in a new relationship, let alone with the excess baggage of a child in tow. Alice found it difficult to to find a man willing to except her and her child. Alice was forced to support herself and Danica by any means possible. She had been forced to quit high school years ago when she became pregnant with Danica. Now she had no education or real experience in the work force and eventually agreed to take a job working in a local bar. She made very little money, but it was enough to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table and clothes on their backs. Their life was a daily struggle and nothing ever came easy for either of them.

"Alice met several different men while working at the bar and sometimes brought them home after her shift ended. Most of them were only interested in one of two things; sex with her or sex with Danica. This angered Alice something terrible. She desperately wanted the love and attention Danica was receiving, but little did she realize that the men she was bringing home were no better than Eddie. Most of them were perverted who wanted nothing more than to molest her own child, but Alice didn't want to admit it to herself. Danica will never forget the night her mother brought home an older man named Tom. He was drunk, scruffy, and his clothing was ragged and torn, but Alice didn't seem to mind. She told Danica to get to bed and they danced around the room in a drunken stooper. Danica could her their laughter piercing through her bedroom wall. The music was very loud and kept her from falling asleep.

"Her mother must have eventually passed out because it wasn't long before Tom came wandering into her bedroom. Danica became nervous and asked him to leave, but Tom proceeded to crawl into Danica's bed telling her that he wouldn't hurt her; he just wanted to "cuddle." He started to kiss her on the neck. He was touching her in such an inappropriate way and Danica wanted to cry out to her mother, but she was scared. She didn't know what he was doing, but she knew it was wrong.

"He pushed up against her and started taking off her pants and underwear. He grabbed Danica's hand and placed it on his genitals. Her heart was pounding so hard that she could hear the beating in her ears. He stood up and leaned over, he bed putting his erection up against her face.

"Danica tried to turn the other way, but he held her shoulders tightly and told her to put her mouth on it. She was too scared by that time and obeyed his demands hoping it would be over soon. He stood there, arched over and easing going back and forth. Danica just wanted it to stop because her mouth was aching from being wide open for so long. He was mumbling, but she could not make out what he was saying. Then suddenly something started shooting forcefully into the back of her mouth. She squirmed to get away because she thought he was peeing in her mouth, but he wouldn't let her. He just moaned really loud and she just laid there until it was over.

"He finally stopped and stood up. When Danica sat up she was really dizzy for some reason and when she looked up there was white stuff all over his erection. She looked down and saw it was also all over her nightshirt and on the edge of the bed. He told her to hurry to the bathroom and she instantly darted in there and began washing her face and mouth. She couldn't fathom what had just happened to her and it was like a thousand voices in my head all at once. Danica was shaking and scared. She locked the bathroom door and decided to stay there...she felt safe in the bathroom for now.

"Tom left shortly after this incident. Danica had heard the door slam shut and his car drive away. She started crying and felt nauseous. She vomited and made her way to her mom's bedroom. She shook Alice feverishly trying to wake her up, but she was passed out cold. Danica decided to wait until morning and laid down next to her mom in bed. She did not want to go back to her room as the bed was all wet and gooey. She laid there for what seemed like hours before she finally fell asleep.

"Danica told her mother what happened over her morning coffee. Her mother did not believe her at first. In fact, she seemed quite annoyed that Danica was talking so fast this early in the morning. But, as Danica started to cry uncontrollably, Alice knew that she was telling the truth. Her mother never looked at her the same after this. She made Danica feel very self-conscience about what had happened and basically blamed her for allowing it to happen. We never saw Tom again after that.

"Over time, Alice took her anger, rage and inability to find and keep a man out on Danica. This caused Danica to have hard feelings and hatred towards her mother. It made her feel insecure and unloved as an innocent, young girl. Danica desperately needed her mother's love, support and understanding as she was having terrible flashbacks and nightmares about the incident with Tom, but Alice was always too busy or too tired. She ignored Danica like the plague.

"Danica saw her mother get hit, kicked, smacked and punched by several different men in her life and yet she always crawled back on her hands and knees begging and pleading for their forgiveness and love. Where was her mother's pride? Didn't she realize how pathetic she looked? After witnessing this dysfunctional pattern of living, Danica vowed never to live like her mother. She wanted better for herself than her mother. She wanted the life she never knew, but she believed existed. In addition to a better life she knew she wanted to help women and children who were affected by abuse as she and her mother had been. It was then she knew what her life's calling was and she intended on following it through. Danica wanted to become a counselor.

"Although Danica's life was a constant battle of ups and downs, when she finally graduated high school and entered the work force, she knew she wanted to make a difference. She wanted to help others who were also victims of abuse. She knew in her heart there was only one role she wanted to fulfill. She wanted to become a domestic violence counselor and child abuse advocate. In her heart, she knew it was the right thing to do.

"Danica took a successful position with the Hilton Safe House and married the man of her dreams; professional NFL football player Tyler Johnson. Danica's life seemed complete and she was very satisfied. She was married to awonderful man and had the career of her dreams. What more could she ask for?

"For such a small framed woman, Danica had this amazing will, drive and determination strong enough to move mountains. In five years Danica earned herself quite the reputation as a powerful domestic violence counselor. She managed to raise awareness and helped thousands of women and children take charge and rebuild their lives after surviving being abused on a daily basis. She was admired a great deal in her community and Danica was proud of her accomplishments.

"Danica re-enforced positive change and taught victims the steps towards freedom from domestic violence and child abuse by educating the public on signs, symptoms, statistics, prevention and recovery.

Although the road to recovery is never quick or easy, Danica taught women and children how to start a new beginning and regain their life back with dignity and respect. Danica taught those who had been victimized and survived as she validated their heroic resilience to the abuse they suffered. She proudly taught victims to honor the spirit and courage of abuse survivors by empowering them to speak out against their abuser. She showed the victim the way to recovery through healing, validation and creating inspiration for others.

"But, even though she was a highly respected woman and loved and admired by many, Danica had a horrific secret all her own... One she never intended for ANYONE to find out."


Unnecessary Roughness: Til death do us part...
Authors: Sandra Potter and Donna M. Kshir
ISBN-10: 0557094666
ISBN-13: 978-0557094660, Pages: 174, $19.92, Publication Date: August 19, 2009, Self Help, Published by Kshir and Potter, Lulu.com

In addition to their domestic violence book they also released their first book in their child abuse awareness series, "The Child Abuse Survivor Project," is non-fiction and consists of short, warm, heart felt stories of survivial. "The Preacher's Kid....by Anonymous" is just one of the many survivial stories that will touch your heart and soul.


The Child Abuse Survivor Project is non-fiction book and consists of short, warm, heart felt stories of the fight for everyday survivial. "The Preacher's Kid....by Anonymous" is just one of the many survivial stories that will touch your heart and soul.

The Preacher's Kid....by Anonymous

The day was blistering hot and I could hardly breathe. I was sitting on the edge of my bed waiting for those dreaded footsteps clunking toward my room. I was sweating and scared of what was to come. I tried to whistle a song in my head, but I could not because the fear was overwhelming.

Beads of sweat dripped off my forehead and into my eyes burning ever so slightly, but nothing in comparison to what I would be receiving in the next ten minutes. I was terrified of my father especially when I had done something wrong, especially something THIS wrong!

I had gotten a hold of my father's ammo stash the day before last. I had taken it to my friend Steve's house (about twenty rounds of .22 caliber shells) for the night. We had a small bonfire and Steve and I thought it would be exciting to throw the rounds into the fire and run for cover. Needless to say one of the rounds found it's way through Steve's picture window of his home. Steve was told we were lucky to be alive by his parents and was hugged and told to never do something like that again. Well they called my parent's to make sure that they knew I had stolen the bullets from their home and that everyone was okay, but I had a window that needed to be replaced and payoff. My father was away on business (the Lord's business) and my mother was just happy everyone was okay and apologized profusely over and over again. I then waited in fear until the day my father arrived back home to receive my punishment.

Now I could hear the heavy footsteps...clunk, clunk, clunk...and my heart beating faster and faster as if I had just ran a mile as fast as my little ten-year old legs could carry me. As I heard my door handle move I exhaled a deep breath and clenched my fists in dread. Tears began to flow before the door even opened. I was trembling and felt so weak and alone and vulnerable like I was a little fawn being torn apart by a big bear. My father spoke, but it was not consoling by any means. He said in a thunderous voice “Boy, don't you know thieves will not enter God's kingdom?" He threw me off my bed with one swipe of his hand and marched over to my closet and grabbed a hockey stick in one hand and a aluminum bat in the other. "What will it be boy? You will respect God in this house or his wrath will be unleashed upon ye!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as a spray of spit spewed from his mouth half way across the room. The next thing he did was grab me by my hair and lift me from the ground up to his face and then tossed me onto my bed in one smooth motion like I was weightless. As I looked up and started to mutter Sorry I saw a flash of the hockey stick coming out of the corner of my eye and that is the last thing I remember.

My mom had a zip lock bag full of ice on the top of my head when I became conscious again. The room was swirling as I tried to focus my eyes on my mother's face. I saw the hockey stick splintered in a pile by my closet. It was now dark outside so I asked my mom what happened and what time it was? Mom said, "You just mind your Pappy" and walked away as quickly as she could without explaining anything. I wandered into the bathroom across the hall on shaky legs turning on the light. To my shock and disbelief I had three bumps on my head an inch or more tall.

I had a monster goose-egg over my left eye and my lips were both cut and swollen. I looked like I had been in a car accident that I was lucky to have survived. I looked intently in the mirror hoping it was not me looking back. I slowly turned to see my back bruised and scraped and a cut from the top of my neck down to my shoulder. I pulled my pants down to look at my butt to see what he had inflicted there, but to my amazement there was not a mark on it, but below it on the top of my legs down to my calves were blistered and swollen. No wonder it had been so hard for me to wander the six feet from my room.

As I stared into the mirror my eyes changed from shock and disbelief to anger and hatred. I knew Mother was scared of Father, but I knew from this moment forward I would hate his very existence and would not bow in reverence to his God. I could not rap my mind around the fact that he is supposed to love and guide me (especially being an Evangelist of God) through these young years. I knew I had done wrong and deserved to be punished like so many times before when my bottom had been spanked by his welting power with my own belt. I was in utter disbelief at the punishment I had received by my hypocritical Evangelist - in the name of God- out of control father. At ten I knew I would never love him the way I was supposed to love a father. My mother was never respected from this day on for allowing it and not doing anything to get me away from the "Devil's Spawn" in which I refer to him now.

Now twenty-nine years later I still have issues with love and happiness because of a man who could not control his anger and a woman who would not protect her only child. I have always wondered how my life might have changed if I had only gotten the normal beating instead of what that ten-year old boy got (which had been beat within a couple smacks of death). I have not seen either of my parents in twenty-three years and would never let my children near either one of them. I finished up my high school days in foster care (thank God for that). I discipline my three kids, but would never dream of hurting them physically or traumatizing them in the way I had been traumatized.

Thanks for listening to my story of the bullet incident and I hope someone can relate or learn something from it.

PEACE AND LOVE TO ALL THE CHILDREN OUT THERE!

^^Signed the Preacher's kid^^

The Child Abuse Survivor Project
Authors: Sandra Potter and Donna M. Kshir
ISBN-10: 0557095026
ISBN-13: 978-0557095025, Pages: 204, $21.16, Publication Date: August 19, 2009, Self Help, Published by Kshir and Potter, Lulu.com

BOTH BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT AMAZON.COM.

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