Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 333

Tonight's special guest is Jim Heaney from Chicago, survivor and author of "Divine Child: Evil vs the Angels of Stoney Island," a story about child abuse and children abuse healing. Jim says, "When your own family doesn't work out, pay attention. There's probably someone else to help you grow up." For Jim Heaney, it was the angels of Stony Island. After being molested by a neighbor, ten-year old Jimmy is abandoned by the people who should be protecting him. His grades and behavior plummet, and he starts drinking. But there are still bright spots in his life in Chicago's Stony Island neighborhood including baseball down by the railroad tracks, and his parish school. But survival is not recovery. The dark legacy of Jim's sexual abuse continues to haunt his adult life. He narrowly escapes prison, and although he quits drinking, unresolved anger threatens to destroy every good relationship in his life. "Divine Child: Evil vs. The Angels of Stony Island" tells how young Jimmy built on compassion first experienced in Stony Island to climb from despair to recovery. He shares his story in the hope that it will give other survivors of child abuse the tools to make new life for themselves. A child abuse author and speaker, Jim has spoken about child abuse and memory healing in the context of his recovery from the after-effects of sexual abuse and addiction issues to thousands of adults and young people at conferences throughout North America.