Kate Price on Surviving Childhood Abuse and Fighting Human Trafficking

Memoir of Healing and Truth

• 💡 Kate Price's memoir, "This Happened to Me, a Reckoning," details her survival of childhood sexual abuse and trafficking by her father.
• 🎯 The book chronicles her journey through PTSD and her extensive healing work with trauma specialist Dr. Bessel van der Kolk.
• 🔑 Price's research focuses on child sex trafficking, and she has turned her personal trauma into a career fighting this exploitation.

The Impact of Trauma and Healing

• 🧠 The narrative explores how trauma affects the body, referencing Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's concept of "The Body Keeps the Score."
• 💬 Price emphasizes the importance of transparency in her healing process, sharing details of her therapy sessions as a roadmap for others.
• ⚠️ She describes experiencing flashbacks and suicidal ideation during her teens and early twenties, finding safety and healing after moving to Boston.

Solace in Literature and Connection

• 📚 Judy Blume's books provided crucial comfort and a sense of connection for Price during her difficult childhood, acting as a lifeline.
• 📖 She also found resonance in J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," recognizing it as an early example of a trauma novel.
• 🤝 Price highlights that isolation fuels oppression, and books offer a vital form of connection and meaning-making for survivors.

Investigative Journey and Vindication

• 🔍 With the help of journalist Janelle Nanos, Price spent a decade investigating her past, leading to a profound sense of vindication.
• 🗣️ The "Me Too" movement and other societal shifts created a more receptive environment for believing survivors.
• ⚖️ While her father denies everything, Price continues advocacy work in her hometown, focusing on policy and practice to protect children.

Professional Accomplishments and Advocacy

• 🔬 As an associate research scientist, Price conducts research on familial commercial sexual exploitation, aiming to translate findings into policy and practice.
• 🎓 Her academic career, rooted in sociology, began with an early need to understand truth and has become integral to her healing process.
• 💖 She plans to open "Milgirl Books," a bookstore offering writing workshops to provide children, especially those who cannot afford them, with access to books and creative outlets.

Advice for Survivors

• 🌱 The core advice for those enduring trauma is that they are not alone, emphasizing the power of connection and self-belief.
• 🚀 Price encourages survivors to "bet on yourself," trusting that healing and answers will reveal themselves when safety is established.