Entrenched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go

When a destructive affair with an older, married boss ended in sexual assault, Linda was grateful her husband took her back. The reconciliation was short-lived. Linda quickly found herself drawn to another older, married man. Even though he was selfish and controlling, she needed to be the one he chose. She got her wish. Shortly after he proposed, the return of her repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse almost destroyed Linda and her new relationship. She persevered and they married. But just as he had done to his first wife, every two years her second husband left her. Linda always took him back- even after he moved in with his friend, a man charged with possession of child porn. Why did Linda cling to this unhealthy relationship? Would she ever find the strength to let go? On average a woman will leave an unhealthy relationship seven times before leaving for good. And why do we choose the wrong partner in the first place? The answer can most often be found by exploring past trauma. Our past formulates self-worth, how we attach to others, and how we believe we deserve to be treated. Given the important and timely focus on workplace sex assault/harassment, intimate partner sex assault, child sex abuse and trafficking, Entrenched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go will resonate with anyone who has been or knows a victim—and the numbers are staggering. One in four girls is a victim of child sexual abuse and a child victim is six times more likely to be sexually assaulted again as a teen or an adult. Each year in the U.S. there are 463,634 victims (12 or older) of rape and sexual assault—that's one in five women. Almost half of those assaults are perpetrated by an acquaintance. One in three women experience physical violence by a current or former partner. More than three women are murdered by her partner or former partner in this country every day, that's over 4,000 women each year. Blakemore writes for each of these women. She is one of them. Her poignant true story sheds light on the aftermath of child sexual assault and highlights the pain and self-blame a victim often feels following intimate sexual assault. As the author confronts her past and heals, her journey creates a powerful resource for any woman who has experienced intimate sexual assault, workplace sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse, or abandonment.