Tears of the Silenced: A True Crime and an American Tragedy; Severe Child Abuse and Leaving the Amish

                                                                              

Misty was six years old when her family started dressing like the Amish, it was the beginning of a nightmare. In the following years, Misty and her little sister were cut off from civilization and held in captivity on a lonely mountain ranch. The two girls were not allowed to talk without raising their hands, were used as slaves and subjected to horrific beatings and sexual abuse. When Misty was 18 she attempted to escape and as a result, she and her sister were taken to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. But the nightmare was not over.

  
For three and a half years Misty lived as a young Amish woman and in accordance with Amish tradition, she was silent about the abuse she witnessed and endured. Then one morning after being sexually assaulted she found herself running again and this time she made it to the police station. Shaken and confused she filed a sexual assault report against the bishop of her church. Her life was about to change forever and the strange modern world was almost as frightening as the abusive situation she was fleeing.

Tears of the Silenced is both horrifying and inspirational. Today, twelve years later, Misty is a wife, nursing student, bestselling author, and one of the leading voices for child abuse awareness in the United States.