The Remedy

A pulls-no-punches, story of trauma and recovery, The Remedy serves the bittersweet truth of what is required of a rape victim who wants more out of life. A page-turner, this memoir transports the reader into the mind of Marie, who is simultaneously the protagonist and antagonist. She plays both the victim and survivor while working to navigate the dating game, social interactions and manage her entry into adulthood at the University of Virginia and beyond. Consumed with protecting her family, Marie invites us onto a battlefield familiar to most; her mind is riddled with second-guesses and self-doubt. At every turn in her search for understanding, healing and redemption, Marie exposes the genuine realities sexual assault victims face while trying to cope with their trauma in a callus society. The Remedy leaves the reader on the edge of their seat, full of questions, and with a remarkable new mindset that questions the status quo created by today's rape culture.

The difference between a victim and an overcomer is that a victim is injured, harmed, hurt, even killed by an offender where an overcomer has successfully gained control over the hurt, harm, trauma, et cetera. Waking up the morning after being raped, Marie was faced with an understood ultimatum. Tell her family and face public embarrassment or, run from the pain as long as possible and attempt recovery on her own. Unfortunately for her, recovering from rape isn’t something anyone, man or woman, can do alone. With no support for the better part of a decade, and no experience in matters of love and intimacy, Marie struggled to beat her past trauma alone, taking on fresh wounds and challenges along the way. This is a story of the transformation Marie, and many other rape and sexual assault survivors, experience as they battle with post-traumatic stress syndrome and overcoming trauma. With no real ending, this story provides a platform for discussing the raw truth about how victims are affected and what it takes for them to become overcomers. Marie bears her soul for the world to see and possibly shred with the understanding that until rape becomes table talk, the perceptions and suicides associated with the crime will continue.

H. Marie Williams is a native New Yorker, avid sports enthusiast and scholar. She works as a public health official and freelance behavioral health consultant. Marie enjoys world travel, participating in sprint triathlons, sociopolitical banter and watching documentaries. She currently lives in Maryland.