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I met Rev. Erie when I was doing a counseling internship and working as an administrator of a small Christian counseling agency. She and I felt an immediate kinship, a sisterhood of sorts. Ours is a friendship that has lasted over 30 years. I have daily honored her tenacity and determination to find wholeness. I admire the wisdom that has come from her deeply spiritual personal work and long-term therapy. In all the years of our friendship, I can honestly say I have never seen nor experienced any inclination in her to give up. It would have been easier. It would have been quicker. But that is NOT who she is. Having earned her own degree in counseling, she knows all too well the road to wholeness is often a long and rocky one.
I, like Erie, have experienced childhood sexual abuse and trauma. That is largely why I became a counselor…at first for my own healing and understanding…later, to help others find healing as well. And, like my dear sister, I wanted to believe God was somehow going to do a Romans 8:28 in my life… just as she was hoping He would do in hers. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
I am so impressed by this dear woman of God…for several reasons. I always tell her, “You, my friend, have the lived with the “trifecta” of prejudice: you’re black, you’re a woman, and you’re a reverend.” She is a black woman living in a primarily white, privileged community. Yet, she still answered the call to be a pastor… going to a primarily white Christian university and seminary…while not allowing being black or being a woman to hinder her in the least.
What went on in her private life, contained in the pages of this book, is enough to set back even the strongest of women, but not Erie. Hers is a story of overcoming; and not only in a singular area of life. It’s overcoming prejudice, cultural norms, family ties, clinical depression, and symptoms typical to those suffered by PTSD victims.
Her story will appall you and make you furious. It will give you hope and inspire you to “keep on keepin’ on”, even in the face of life-threatening odds.
Yes, Erie’s story is a triumphant one. And by the grace of God, she has stepped bravely out of the shadows and into God’s marvelous Light. To God be the glory!
P. Clouse
I have seen Ms. Patton overcome incredible difficulties in her life, including incest and sexual assault. I’ve seen her weather a plethora of hardships, despite attempts to silence her, discredit her, and make her work in the community far harder than it needed to be. Yet, she consistently remained engaged and stubbornly continued to serve both her family and her community.
I am inclined to believe that she has accomplished all she has accomplished, and weathered the storms she has weathered, because she has been called to this platform of authentic and heartfelt service to survivors of sexual assault, patriarchy, misogyny and countless other societal ills that would attempt to ignore or silence truth.
“ It is with great honor and whole hearted gratitude I recommend to you Erie Patton as a speaker, therapist, and powerful woman of God who has learned that we, as women, must take back our power before we can stand in our authentic truth.”
Dear Erie –
What a privilege to meet you! The Spirit of God is so present in you! I'm like your friend who did not need a bookmark...I, too, could not put your book down.
I think you have given a great gift to your daughters and to so many women who are survivors of sexual abuse (of which I am also one.) Your story shows the power of God's love in spite of incredible suffering and pain. You are truly a remarkable woman, but you so beautifully and truthfully give all the glory to God. There are no words to express how deeply touched I am by what you shared. I truly believe you are God's instrument in many lives in ways you don't even know.
May God bless you with deep peace as you continue to share your message and your loving heart with all those you meet.
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