One freezing morning in early March I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. I was a frightened Amish girl with no where to go, a second grade education and no ID or social security card…… Based on the authors tragic true life story.

When I was six years old my family started to live and dress like the Amish. My sister and I were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where we were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse and extreme physical violence. My step-father kept a loaded rifle by the door at all times and we were to terrified to try to escape.We knew that no rescue would ever come because only a couple of people even knew we existed and they did not know us well enough to care.

In my late teens my parents feared we would escape and took us to an Amish community where we were adopted and became baptized members.I was devastated to once again find myself in a world of fear, animal cruelty and sexual abuse.Going to the police was forbidden. A few years later I was again sexually assaulted, I feared for my life and one freezing morning in early March I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. As a result I found myself plummeted into the strange modern world with only a second grade education and no ID or social security card.

To all abuse survivors out there, Please be encouraged, the cycle of abuse can be broken. Now, ten years later I am a nursing student working towards my Masters degree and a child abuse awareness activist. This is my story…….