0A few weeks before my seventh birthday, I sat on the wall bordering my driveway. My favorite big kid in the neighborhood sat with me that day. She invited me to try out for a neighborhood play in their garage. Enticed with the feeling of being included was all it took. The lure was set in motion. Keeping her secret by crossing my heart and swearing to silence sealed the deal. When the garage door closed and a filthy chair was pushed tightly under the doorknob, my heart sank to the place that knows something horrible is about to happen, and there is no way out. On my thirty-eighth Thanksgiving I woke up screaming with no sound after having the worst night terror I ever experienced. This life-altering awakening triggered my carefully tucked away memories I had chosen never to address. On this day, I began the long arduous journey to heal from my childhood nightmare. I fought not only to survive, but to thrive. In this memoir I travel from the evil darkness on the other side of the wall to a hopeful new life I never thought was possible.