“When people have many adverse child experiences (ACE Score) such as sexual, physical, and emotional abuse combined with abandonment, shame, ridicule, and tragic suffering often we are unequipped to know/sense or see red flags. These traumas make it difficult to know that we can stop or walk away from new traumatic experiences. Because our normal is tragic suffering and dysfunction, we do not know how to keep ourselves safe. Our negative experiences are higher than those who have a lower ACE score, even in adulthood. Therefore, we are flash-flooded with ‘messed-up’ experiences throughout our lifetime (it is as if our security system was not installed). Our PTSD responses compound and grow. We explain this for you to understand why we are jumping and bouncing all around in this novel. It is because of Marley’s trauma and her high ACE score. Finding a way to express this phenomenon happened after years of processing, writing, and editing this novel side by side.”
With Love,
Stacey Cahill and Lisa Molina
Raising Awareness about Human Trafficking 