Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1690

Tonight's special guest is Jennene Christinen Obremski from Maryland, a survivor of childhood sexual and physical abuse. She's telling her story for the first time. Jennene is from the island of Chuuk in Micronesia, and was raised by her grandmother, Rosa Newo, their matriarch. But her mother lived in a separate home where would visit. "Her drunk friends would molest me almost every weekend," she says. "I started liking the feeling. I began masturbating constantly." When her mother discovered this she beat Jennene publicly with a 2x4. Her grandmother intervened just in time to prevent further damage, but Jennene still has symptoms. "At age 15 I was raped at a high school friend’s house party," she says. "I had been a virgin until then. I felt like it was my fault." She never told anyone. At age 16 Jennene's mother introduced her to a 36 year old neighbor. "She kicked me out of the house at age 17 to live with this older man whom I had fallen in love with. I had my daughter 2 days before my 19th birthday." She drank her way into her 30s. "I was a cutter and I cut every time I was down." At 33 she tried to kill herself. She attended therapy and was diagnosed Bipolar and as suffering from PTSD. "Then I discovered digital art by accident," she shares."This is where I began to find my healing." Jennene has books on createspace.com and amazon.com. Her digital art book "Sweet Serenity: Hello Gorgeous" is of special note because she's raising money to support orphans in Uganda." Jenneen is doing much better now and just celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary.