There are many losses that a child (and family) experience following a traumatic event such as the sexual abuse of a child. As everyone grieves those losses in their own way, the child can feel overwhelmed, confused and powerless. Once it is revealed, a safety team of professionals is often brought into the child's life. It can be very embarrassing, uncomfortable and scary for a child to disclose the details of a very traumatic event to a stranger. This experience can feel intimidating and frightful to that child and increase any feelings of powerlessness they may harbor.
Brave, Safe, Loved is intended to lessen those fears and familiarize a child with the new people in their life. This book tells the story of Alex, an 8-year-old boy who experienced sexual abuse while playing at his best friend's house. Following a very difficult conversation with his parents in which he discloses the incident of abuse (as told in Sad, Scared, Confused. Copyright 2020 by Amy Ledoux), Alex is soon introduced to his "safety team" of professionals - a forensic doctor who examines children following abuse, a child protection worker who interviews children and develops a "safety plan" to keep them safe and a therapist who helps guide them to a place of recovery.
Alex is far from thrilled to meet his safety team and resents their presence and influence in his life. At times, he feels regret for having disclosed his experience with his parents and believes that his life might have been less turbulent if he had just kept it to himself. His plans for having an "epic summer" hanging out with his best friend, Kenny, are seemingly ruined. Rather than enjoying skateboarding, gaming and sleepovers as he and Kenny had planned, his life is instead taken over by appointments with his therapist or "feelings doctor." As if that were not disruptive enough for a child, he also loses his best friend for a while when Kenny's mother learns of the allegations made against her oldest son, Kenny's brother, and angrily keeps the children apart.
Through his display of thoughts and emotions, Alex becomes a relatable character to children as well as the adults who love them. The reader experiences the shock and fear felt by Alex when he wakes up to his parents speaking with a child protection worker in their living room. We can feel the embarrassment and sense of vulnerability he felt when he was interviewed as well as his annoyance and resentment of the subsequent "safety plan" that was established. We witness his feelings of shame and fear when having to be examined by a medical doctor and his discomfort and reluctance to meeting with a therapist. Finally, in the end, we can share his joy and excitement when he feels he can resume his "new normal" life following the "reconciliation session" (a therapeutic session facilitated by the therapists working with the victim and perpetrator of abuse intended to allow accountability from the perpetrator and continue the healing for the victim). As his therapist rewards him with the key of bravery, safety and love, we experience his transformation from being sad, scared and confused to proud, brave and EMPOWERED!!
The process of moving from trauma and crisis to healing and recovery was not easy for Alex. It took a lot of work from his family as well as the family of the child who perpetrated the abuse. This book not only conveys the toll it can take on a child and family, but also the healing that can be experienced when the work is put into it!
