Tears of the Silenced: An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival (Amish Book, Child Abuse True Story, Cults)

Tears of the Silenced: An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival (Amish Book, Child Abuse True Story, Cults)

by Misty Griffin
Tears of the Silenced: An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival (Amish Book, Child Abuse True Story, Cults)

Tears of the Silenced: An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival (Amish Book, Child Abuse True Story, Cults)

by Misty Griffin

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Overview

Surviving Severe Child Abuse, Sexual Assault and Leaving the Amish Church

In May 2022 Misty Griffin released the Child Rights Act petition calling on Congress to take action and help abused children in religious communities. It is currently gaining momentum and national media attention.

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A gripping story that takes you on the journey of a child abuse and sexual assault survivor turned activist. (Photo gallery included).

True story of child abuse. When Misty Griffin was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch and subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and physical violence. Their step-father kept a loaded rifle by the door to make sure the young girls were too terrified to attempt escape. No rescue would ever come since the few people who knew they existed did not care.

Sexual abuse among the Amish. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community. Devastated to again find herself in a world of fear, cruelty, and abuse, Misty was sexually assaulted by the bishop. "...I knew I had to get help, and one freezing morning in early March, I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. After reporting the bishop, I left the Amish and found myself plummeted into a strange modern world with only a second-grade education and no ID or social security card." Ultimately Misty graduated nursing school and currently works as an activist for abused children.

Inside learn how:

  • A cycle of abuse can be broken
  • Abuse was not your fault
  • Moving forward is possible

Read true crime books and child abuse true stories like EducatedA Child Called It, The Family Next Door, or Etched In Sand? Then Tears of the Silenced is a must-read.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781633539327
Publisher: Mango Media
Publication date: 09/15/2018
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 332
Sales rank: 99,669
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

In spring of 2005 Misty left the Amish, she left with nothing but the clothes on her back, a few other belongings and with barely a third-grade education. For years Misty suffered severe PTSD which was caused by the horrifying abuse she suffered as a child, and later when being effectively “given away” to the Amish and put in the hands of the very abusive Amish bishop. Today, thirteen years later Misty is a nursing student, a Child Sexual Abuse activist, wife and successful author of several books, including this one. For more on Misty and her current books, please go to www.tearsofthesilenced.com

Read an Excerpt

I trembled as I walked into the small police station. It seemed to have only two or three rooms in it. The town had fewer than two thousand residents, so I figured its size was due to a low crime rate. I walked through the front door and went over to a heavy wooden counter where a middle-aged policewoman sat at a computer. She looked up and her expression turned to surprise as she took in my appearance.

I imagined I was very different from most of the people that normally walked up to her desk. I was a young Amish woman, just a little over five feet tall, wearing an ankle-length, plain, teal-colored dress and apron. I had on knee-length black socks and black shoes, and my coat was of homemade denim with a high collar and hooks and eyes to hold the front closed. On my head, a stiff, white Amish Kapp covered nearly all my hair; it was tied in a small bow under my chin. I was shaking as I stood there, trying to get up enough courage to say something, but my mouth was so dry I could not form any words.

“Can I help you with something, honey?” the woman asked as she took off her reading glasses.

Her bright blue eyes crinkled up on the sides when she smiled. She seems like a nice lady, I thought, and I felt a little better.

“Um,” I swallowed hard. I tried to block out the mental image of being put in the Bann—shunned. “Um,” I repeated. I placed my trembling hands on the countertop.

“Yes, dear. What is it?” the woman asked.

“Um... I would like to talk to the police, please,” I said, pressing my hands down on the counter to stop them from shaking.

“Okay, in regard to what?”

I hesitated. “I need to talk to someone because the bishop of my church attacked me and is threatening to kill me, and I think he is also poisoning his wife and molesting his daughters.”

The woman raised her eyebrows in shock. After looking at me for another moment, she got up and came around the counter.

“Are you okay, honey?” she asked as she reached out to put an arm around my shoulders.

I backed up, not wanting her to touch me. I saw her nod as if she had seen this reaction before.

I was not sure I was doing the right thing. I had witnessed so much abuse and pain in my life, and I just felt I could no longer keep silent.

If an Amish man in my church confessed to rape or molestation, he would only be shunned for six weeks. Going to the police was strictly frowned on and anyone who did so was risking being placed in the Bann or would at least be permanently stigmatized as untrustworthy.

I trembled; the Bann never worked for these sort of crimes. The offenders would usually continue to offend after the dust settled or sometimes while still in the Bann. If I did not report the bishop to the authorities, I knew there would be many more victims.

Table of Contents

Preface 13

Prologue 14

The Beginning of a Nightmare 17

Engulfed by a Shadow 27

Forgotten by the World 37

Seasons of Sorrow 47

Tortured 51

A New Victim 59

Face of Evil 77

The Community 83

Uniformity: The Loss of Identity 101

The Ordnung 111

Silenced 121

Personal Convictions 131

Freedom from Prosecution 141

Ancient Traditions 157

Farced to Forgive 169

The Baptism 177

An Amish Wedding 183

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing 201

A Visit from the FBI 207

The Bishop's Maid 215

Poisoned 227

Silenced No Longer 235

Leaving the Amish 253

Shunned 265

A Modern World 275

The Bishop Escapes 281

A Voice from the Past 295

Revisiting a Childhood Nightmare 309

Going Back for My Sister 321

The Sting of Being Shunned 329

Acres of Heartache 341

Christmas in Seattle 349

The Last Thirteen Years 357

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Despite a lifetime of following restrictive rules and a cloistered childhood, Griffin gathered her courage and took the unusual and brave step to go to the police to report the bishop–and would ultimately leave the Amish. Now 36, Griffin is married and a nursing student working toward her bachelor’s degree on the West Coast, and is the author of the newly updated book, Tears of the Silenced: An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal and Ultimate Survival.’" ―The Daily Mail

“Misty Griffin's memoir, Tears of the Silenced, is a story of hope and heart-healing. Having survived and even thrived after a childhood of sexual abuse and brutal betrayal–first at the hands of her parents and then in an Amish community. As a teen with only a 2nd grade education she escaped enslavement. This is truly a story, from the inside–outside, of transformation and re-birth. A must read for everyone who has ever felt imprisoned by others as well as by their own beliefs. Read this and allow Misty's courage to light your way to a healed heart and a life of passion and purpose.” ―Susyn Reeve, Author of Heart Healing: The Power of Forgiveness to Heal a Broken Heart

“Misty Griffin is an awesome woman. I am amazed by her story, which is harrowing but needs to be told and must be heard and heeded. Tears of the Silenced is a testament to the courage, fortitude and power of one young woman to take back her life; moreover to save her own life. I am deeply inspired.” ―Becca Anderson, author of The Book of Awesome Women and Prayers for Hard Times

“Reading this woman’s story and hearing everything she had to overcome is mind-bending and is nothing like you’d expect from a community that seems to fascinate the nation. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that would like a better look into the world of the Amish and into the world of a woman who should be an inspiration to us all.” ―Sara Finn, Medium

“The surface of this memoir is shocking and heartbreaking. At its core, it is an inspirational tale of a young girl’s determination in the face of unspeakable cruelty. We cry with Misty and we also celebrate with her the strength of the human spirit to overcome horrific obstacles. Her story is a dual call to action: Pursue your dreams even in the face of adversity, and step up to make this world a safer place for the vulnerable and defenseless. ― Marlena Fiol, PhD, author of Love is Complicated: A Memoir of Healing.

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