Reunion Online

After a day of giving thanks, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday calls on us to channel the spirit of joy, gratitude and generosity this holiday season into giving back.

Here on the east coast, the nights are getting crisp and the leaves are beginning to change. Fall means only one thing around here: football season. As a child growing up in a rural town, football was a central part of folks’ lives. Football culture defined what it meant to be a male. Back home, true American males embodied football. 

In my work with 1in6, I’ve heard many men’s stories of trauma and recovery, each one unique. 

I’ll admit that when I first listened to David Holthouse’s startling declaration that he’d once planned to commit murder, I was a bit shocked. It would have been difficult then to imagine how his searing story of recovery from a childhood rape could be transformed into a play that would leave me feeling, not just moved, but inspired. 

This past week, I met with our attorneys for two and a half hours as we are again depending on their expertise and guidance as we embark on another exciting project. I was reminded as I sat across the table from Todd Schneider and Laura McGurty that their deep care and commitment to 1in6 and the men we serve makes our work possible.

How can any of us ever forget the images of trauma and pain that the media carried to us from Newtown, Connecticut last holiday season? We coped and mourned, wondered how a person survives this type of loss. We struggled to understand. We held our children ever-closer. For some, we felt a mix of gratitude to be safely with our families and stinging guilt that we were okay when others were is such deep, abiding pain.

When we think upon the abuse we suffered as children we are often consumed by feelings of pain and how they may continue to negatively affect us even into our present. It may be years before we consider, let alone care why our abuser may have done this to us. What made him/her the way that they are?

This holiday season, celebrate your loved ones with special gifts of joy from our Heartshop.