102: She Was SAed by Her Brother and Lost Her Sister to Suicide

Sarah Hayes shares her story of growing up in a family where sexual abuse began at an incredibly young age and continued for years at the hands of her older brother. With the adults around her repeatedly failing to intervene, Sarah was left to grow up alongside abuse while also taking on a caregiving role with her youngest sister, Dani, who she describes as being like her own baby. Years later, Sarah would become Dani’s legal guardian while still trying to navigate the effects of her own childhood. What followed would leave Sarah carrying a devastating loss alongside the trauma she had already spent much of her life trying to understand.

Years later, Sarah began writing about her experiences as a way to process what had happened, never expecting those pages to eventually become her book, Invisible Monster. She opens up about what ultimately pushed her to put her name and story behind it, the complicated reality of speaking publicly about abuse within your own family, and the emotional toll that came with telling her story. Today, Sarah is using what she survived to work with children who have experienced trauma, hoping to give them the encouragement and support she and her sisters needed when they were young.

Sarah’s Links:

Sarah’s Book - Invisible Monster

https://a.co/d/06wxNaIi

Invisible Monster Etsy Shop

https://share.google/3rCBnchGRcq2TjIjh

Resources:

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

988

RAINN

24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline