This Child's Journey's first pages began in April 1997. I believe my original intention, when I started writing the first few pages, was to share mostly about my childhood and teen experiences, about some of the difficulties that I went through. As time went on, I couldn't ignore the fact that there were - and still are - difficult times, and whether they were directly or indirectly connected to the childhood sexual abuse, or not at all, didn't matter. Even the good times, memorable occasions, an epiphany, or any sort of discovery, deserved to be documented as well. They were still my life's experiences; they were still a part of the journey. I thought that there would be an end one day, a final chapter to add to the homepage.

In the original website, which had grown over the years -- from April 1997 to July 2004 -- I had a Preface, a Body of work, and an Epilogue. I liked structure in my life but I found it easier to accomplish in my stories. A beginning, a middle, and an end. But of course there is no end just yet. The journey continues to this day. I may choose to not write about it or I may even choose to write about it much later.

The website was shut down at the end of July 2004. It came back online again on September 3, 2004. The time in between was a hiatus of sorts, to think and decide.

This is still a personal homepage, just one woman's desire to share (a married, Catholic woman who is now in her mid fifties - insert a wide-eyed face here - and who still wonders what the years ahead hold for her), who enjoys writing her pages, who believes in the power of the written word (even if she's just writing it for herself). It is odd how sometimes one has a few pages in mind but all the words won't come just yet; the words just refuse to get together, imagine that. Then, one day, out of the blue, something else hits you for an entirely different page and the fingers attack the keyboard, and the mind isn't allowed to rest, for the words come so easily. I like those days.

I've always described “This Child's Journey” as “sharings from an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse.” These are very personal sharings from one individual to another. The abuse was part of my past but I am not my past.

This is my journey. These are my sharings.


- M. Browning, Revised October 19, 2019