The Bristlecone Project is an awareness campaign of 1in6.org. Photographs and text by David Lisak, Ph.D.
Manassah begins with this:
I am not a superhero. I cannot fly. I cannot spin spider webs from my wrists. But I do have a superpower. A superpower that we all possess: the ability to overcome extreme adversity and challenges.
At the age of 13, he survived a brutal rape, and a life that was once filled with light and promise was now consumed by darkness, fear and shame. He could not comprehend what had happened. He felt shattered. By his mid-20’s, the darkness, fear and shame were too much to bear. He had to make a choice: life or death. He chose life. He walked into an emergency room and asked for help. He surrounded himself with people and professionals who understood the challenges that he would face and he got to work. He worked very hard for many years to break free from the darkness, fear and shame, and break free he did, and he wants other survivors to know that they can too.
I am not a superhero, I am just an ordinary guy but I have achieved the unimaginable. My life is once again filled with light and promise. The darkness, fear and shame are in my past. I am happy.
That’s best that you can do is really ask for help, cause you can’t do this on your own.
Originally posted on 1in6.org
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