Hello readers. I have written a book, published in April, about a small town struggling to heal from the aftermath of Clergy Sexual Abuse in the local church.

Lillie's Redemption is a powerful, fictional take on the real epidemic of this particular and most devastating kind of abuse. It is systemic, in that many people play a part in it. Often members of the congregations of these ministers cover-up the abuse they know is happening because they receive power and prestige from being close, personal friends with the offending clergyman (up to 38% of male, protestant ministers perpetrate sexually against members of their own congregations).

A lethal network of loyalty and mutual obligation is established and becomes a part of the problem. Often victims are afraid to speak up about the abuse they have experienced because they feel it was somehow their fault and they don't think anyone will believe that their minister could or would do such a thing. Even the friends or parents of victims often are swayed by peer pressure and their love of the pastor to silence or minimize the abuse experience. Denial is a huge problem. People do not want to think that their church, or any church for that matter, would be that unsafe. This leads to pretending that church is a safe place when often it is not.

As a result, this pervasive abuse is kept under the surface. No one wants to talk about it and thus churches remain a hotbed for predatory pastors to come and get away with their abuse of power and sexual exploitation. I seek to bring this out into the open. I have been affected by it personally and professionally and I know of at least 4 ministers in my community who have been guilty of Clergy Sexual Abuse.

The conversation needs to come out of the shadows and into the light where we can talk about it and then find ways to prevent it, deal with it properly and heal from it. It must be a systemic, or community, response to a systemic, or community, problem. Lillie's Redemption is my first offering to the public to reveal the horrifying reality of Clergy Sexual Abuse within the Protestant Church. It is not just Catholic priests who do this, folks!

Join me in the conversation. Have you experienced this in your community or church? Do you know of people who have been victimized or affected by a predatory pastor? Let me know your thoughts on this.

My novel, Lillie's Redemption (with compelling characters, a wonderful love story, lots of healing and a chance at redemption), is available on my website: lalobainc.com, at Barnes & Noble, Schulers Books and Music at all three locations in Grand Rapids, at The Bookman in Grand Haven, MI. as well as on Kindle and Nook. Thanks, and looking forward to hearing from you. Author Lydia Waring Meyer