The following is something I wrote in my journal about a month into my healing journey. It is the inspiration for the site. I was pissed when I found out how sadly normal I was. I was comforted by the fact that I wasn't alone. Unfortunately, there is no justice for most of us. 

        You are welcome to post this on your site or blog, however, this poem is copyrighted so I request that you include a link back to sadlynormal.org and my name (as posted at the end) also included.

       It is important to make sure our state legislators know exactly what the facts are, and WHY it takes us so long to break our silence. Please feel free to use any of the facts listed below when contacting your legislators. These and other facts are also listed on The Facts page.

        I am sadly normal
            1 out of every 3 women and 1 out of every 5 men have been sexually
            abused by someone they trust by the time they are 18 years old.

        I am sadly normal
           We feel unimportant, discounted, worthless, shameful, powerless, 
           unlovable. 
 
        I am sadly normal
           We are forced to hide within ourselves by our abusers.

        I am sadly normal
            We are forced to keep our dirty little secrets.
            It's easy to do because we believe it was our fault.

        I am sadly normal
            We learn not to trust anyone, including ourselves, and the adults who
            were supposed to keep us protected.

        I am sadly normal
           We learn to survive by lying, pretending, manipulating, and stealing.

        I am sadly normal
           We learn to cope however we can. Drugs, alcohol and food are used to
           numb us and provide the comfort we have missed out on.

        I am sadly normal
           We learn to find our way around it, while we struggle to find ourselves.

        I am sadly normal
           We think and learn and are told it doesn't matter.
           We believe we don't matter either.

        I am sadly normal
           We think there are no effects of the abuse, while we can't figure out
           why we are the way we are, and why we do the things we do.

        I am sadly normal
           We become experts at fooling others, and ourselves.

        I am sadly normal
           We become exhausted from hiding the truth, thinking we are responsible
           for protecting those around us.
           Some even protect the abuser.

        I am sadly normal
           We reach adulthood, and deal with it for as long as we can, until we can't
           deal with it any longer.

        I am sadly normal
           We lose concentration and focus. We become more anxious and nervous.
           We feel like we are going insane.

        I am sadly normal
           Emotions fill us. Craziness, sadness, anger, rage, irritation, frustration.
           Loneliness.  

        I am sadly normal
           SOMETIMES, we find a way to break our silence. We get help, and we learn
           to live, not just survive.
           Some never get to that point.
           Some just live with it.
           Some die with it.
           Some take their own lives because of it.

        I am sadly normal
           SOMETIMES, we seek counseling, and the healing is finally allowed to
           begin. Many don't discover the help that is available until we are in our
           30's or 40's.
           Some never discover it.

        Does this sound like you?
        You are sadly normal too.

                                             - Lisa Ritter
                                               July, 2005