Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2065

Tonight's special guest is Olivia Branch from Buckeye, Arizona, a child sexual abuse survivor and returning NAASCA family member. Last time she said she always aims at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Immigrating from Mexico in the 60's, her family lived in the largely Latino East LA area. Her father was a blue collar worker who suffered from alcoholism. "I always felt alone," she said. Her mother spend the majority of her time dealing with her father's alcoholism. Olivia was repeatedly sexually abused by a cousin, eight years older than her. The first incident of this was when she was about three, but the last time was in adulthood. "I grew up eating my anxiety away and reached 375 pounds in adulthood. I was fat and felt like a monster." Eventually she began working on herself. "I had gastric bypass and lost all my excess weight. I began kick boxing I learned how to physically to not let anyone hurt me gain. The recovery period has been long and imperfect." After appearing on this show the first time she  drove herself to the coast and threw the original bio she'd written into the ocean. "For me it was my way to release the pain of my past," she says. "I was prepared to venture on to spaces I could possibly only dream of. I felt relieved, strong, and very assertive of me and my capacity to take care of me. I left working non-profit vocational counseling world and entered corporate world." Then she began dating, and found herself giving men a chance. "I got married in April of last year. I still struggle at times but my husband is kind, patient, and a survivor himself. It's work but I do not regret any of it," she says, concluding, "I will be eternally grateful to this forum." We're delighted to have her!