"By the time I was fifteen I had had it. I was a cold, flip little bitch. I had survived just fine without comfort or affection, it didn't bother me. No one could get me to cry. If my mother threw me out, I would just curl up and go to sleep in a trunk in the hallway. Even when that woman beat me, no way was she going to make me cry. I never cried when my husband beat me. He'd knock me down and I'd get up for more. It's a wonder I didn't get killed. I've cried more in therapy than in my whole life. I never trusted anyone enough to let them see me cry. Not even you, till the last couple of months. There, I've said it! That's a statement of the year!"

  These are the words of a severe childhood abuse survivor.