TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa woman who survived years of domestic violence has decided to put her story on the pages of a book titled "Breaking the Silence." But Michelle Jewsbury didn’t want to be alone, so she asked 20 fellow survivors to join her and share their stories.
“It's all about hope because we don’t have to stay stuck in our circumstances. It’s a choice. We can actually even choose to live a beautiful, successful life despite what it is that we’ve gone through,” said Jewsbury.
In 2017, Jewsbury founded the nonprofit organization Unsilenced Voices, allowing her to meet and work with survivors from all over the world.
“And on that journey, I started to realize it’s not about Michelle Jewsbury it’s about giving people a platform to be able to tell their stories,” she said.
So Jewsbury decided to put together a book featuring the stories of 21 survivors, including Tina Quant and Stacy Peasall from Tampa Bay.
“I always knew. I just had one of those gut feelings that I was going to be called to share my story because I was told, 'Don’t say anything,' and so I’m the type of person that’s like, ‘I really do want to say something,’” said Peasall.
“Even though domestic violence is an ugly thing, it’s an ugly experience to have, there is still an opportunity for families to be brought together and put on a right path, a loving path,” said Quant.
Jewsbury said the outpouring of support from readers has been incredible and, in some cases, life-changing.
“People can pick this up, understand that they are not alone, understand that they too can escape, and they also can live a very beautiful successful life,” said Jewsbury.
“It's about coming forward. It’s about standing up for yourself and standing in your own truth, to say, ‘Yes, this happened to me, and it didn’t define me,’” said Peasall.
Jewsbury already has more survivors ready to share their stories in a second volume scheduled to be released this October.
“Unfortunately, one in four women in the US and one in seven men in the US experience domestic violence,” said Jewsbury. “But if we can come together and use our voices and speak up, make a difference, then we can stop a lot of the injustices that happen.”
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