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Kathy Picard is an inspiring award-winning advocate whose work centers on increasing awareness of the harsh realities of sexual child abuse.
As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, through her own process of trying to understand what happened to her, Kathy discovered that there was very little information about the subject of sexual abuse—even in the library. It was as if sexual abuse was a “secret” no one was willing to talk about! Since then, she has educated herself, and now actively seeks opportunities to speak about the importance of awareness, to share the resources she’s personally vetted, to educate people who want to know and do more, and to offer information and encouragement to fellow survivors and their family and friends.
Reviewed by Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite
Life with My Idiot Family: A True Story of Survival, Courage, and Justice over Childhood Sexual Abuse by Kathy and Gary Picard is a memoir about Kathy’s childhood years and the impact it had on her life. Kathy describes her childhood and upbringing in some detail, including her early life with her grandparents, moving in with her parents and siblings, and her father’s sexual abuse starting when she just a child all the way into her teens. She describes how any physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse results in long term trauma for the victims, and goes on to describe her jobs, career, marriage, as well as her social activism to create awareness of sexual abuse and to change the stigma and the laws surrounding it.
Life with My Idiot Family: A True Story of Survival, Courage, and Justice over Childhood Sexual Abuse by Kathy and Gary Picard is an inspiring book and one I would highly encourage everyone to read not only for its powerful story, but also as a means of social awareness on how to identify sexual abuse in children and get help. A key thing to know is that many times childhood sexual abuse happens within the family, or through someone known to the family, and a book like this creates greater awareness of this fact. Kathy mostly writes in the first person and her writing is from-the-heart and genuinely engaging. Another wonderful thing about the book is the way Kathy confronts her abuser after all these years and goes to court, which once again may provide motivation for people in similar situations that justice can be served. All in all, a great read!
