Child abuse is beyond the realm of reasonable people, yet it happens far too often. How does a child process abuse? What gives a child the courage to face daily humiliation, pain, and suffering? The damage for many children is beyond repair, and often opens up a lifetime of heartache and shame. As a child, Al Rivera endured the daily verbal and physical abuse of the one person who should have showered him with love: his mother, and from foster parents who took her place in raising him until he was eighteen. Despite daily abuse, however, Al Rivera faced each new day with a smile and with the...

Child abuse is beyond the realm of reasonable people, yet it happens far too often. How does a child process abuse? What gives a child the courage to face daily humiliation, pain, and suffering? The damage for many children is beyond repair, and often opens up a lifetime of heartache and shame. As a child, Al Rivera endured the daily verbal and physical abuse of the one person who should have showered him with love: his mother, and from foster parents who took her place in raising him until he was eighteen. Despite daily abuse, however, Al Rivera faced each new day with a smile and with the...