Every Other Thursday

This stirring passionate story shares the journey of three happy and healthy little girls, complete strangers whose lives are abruptly interrupted and become congested with fear, loss, grief and shame at the hand of an unthinkable perpetrator's ghastly crimes of kidnapping and murder. Their paths finally cross as young adults and their bond is sealed.

There was a loud gasp in the room, everyone including the parole board was flabbergasted as Danielle spoke about the crimes of her father. Her voice cracked and she swallowed hard, but pressed in continuing to share from her heart. "So many families have been torn apart, by these ghastly events, we have all been saturated with loss, sadness, and grief, weighed down by shame and guilt, and every morning without fail we wake up to fear and anxiety. I struggled through the years with low self worth, substance abuse, and deep depression in my effort to drown out all the stigma and burden of his crimes. It has not been an easy journey. Nothing will bring back Ivy Long, nor will my words erase the scars of molestation, but my hope is that we empower ourselves and connect like a jigsaw puzzle, with every piece representing healing, forgiveness and positive support of each other falling into place, to ensure a healthy future." There was not a dry eye in the room, everyone was drawn into Danielle's heart and felt every word that she shared. Especially Jena and Pinkie, who were sobbing in the arms of their prospective families.

Gwendolyn Taitt Relf is a writer, photographer, blogger and philanthropist. Through sponsorship for the education and welfare of female victims of violence, famine and displacement, she has provided strength amid uncertainty for many women around the world. She is the author of her first book "Why The Stars Twinkle" and she also contributed to "We Support You", an anthology of letters and poems to those serving in the armed forces. As a motivational speaker and publicist, Gwendolyn continues to pursue her lifelong passion for motivating people to live with vision and purpose. She founded the rapidly growing prayer blog, Friends of Jesus, which currently has over 169,000 members.