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From infant to adult, a struggling warrior’s story - Tex – The life behind the smile

BY READERS DIGEST

8th Mar 2022 Book Reviews

From infant to adult, a struggling warrior’s story - Tex – The life behind the smile

Often, we see children playing, giggling, and cherishing every moment of their life with their parents. But not every child is fortunate enough to live a carefree childhood

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But not every child is fortunate enough to live a carefree childhood. Some children are orphans, while others’ parents give them up, hoping that they might have a better life. But do they actually end up living the childhood that they deserve, or their foster homes are worse? We usually get to hear stories about how children were abused physically and verbally by their parents. The intensity and impact of verbal abuse on mental health are worse than physical. Nevertheless, any abuse done with a child or even an adult leaves the victim feeling low about themselves and losing hope in society.

The fear of opening up

The children living in the child welfare agencies do not easily open up about the traumas they have faced in their childhood. Those young ones with disabilities, many of whom are unable to interpret or articulate abusive experiences, are at significantly higher risk of sexual abuse compared to their peers without disabilities, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2018. Many children fear revealing their past abuse because they feel unsafe.

Children who have been victims of sexual abuse also act out, which is a reaction to expressing feelings or sexual impulses that are odd, aggressive, excessive, or explicit.

The best you can do to help these children is to make things easier to open up. Provide them a safe and secure environment or try compensating for their messed-up childhood by offering comforting words and pouring love into their lives.

“They Call Me Tex”

Even after children grow up or adults get busy in their lives, the glimpse and fear stay within unless they take help. The book “They Call Me Tex” The Painful Life Behind the Smile is an autobiography in which the author shares his life story of how his mother gave him to the foster home as she was too young to look after the infant and because of other complexities that she had to face.

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The book also focuses on the author’s life and how he survived abuse, rape, and a messed-up childhood, but he did not give up. Today, that child who was once young and helpless – is now a strong survivor. He has outlived all his fears, anxieties, and depressive episodes and lives a successful life with his children, grandchildren, and partner. He has also been successful in his career just because he did not relinquish the hope in himself and fought every kind of fear to reach where he is today.

The book is an autobiography about the survivor, a strong person, a human, and the little boy who grew up in an abusive foster home. This autobiography will clear your perception about how children grow up in an abusive household and how they survive rape and molestation.

Find peace

Peace of mind doesn't require peace and quiet.

It is imperative to comprehend that breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect is one of the survivor's most tedious and painful endeavors, especially for those who once had been victims of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse as children and adults. However, we need to understand that no gift could be more significant than one can give to oneself, intimate partners, or children than to stop this cycle of abuse or neglect that they have experienced.

The author of the book “Tex - The life behind the smile” says, “Our childhood experiences, intentionally or unintentionally, affect our relationships with others. Our behavior and our parenting styles, which in turn determine the self-worth and character of our children and those around us. The people who face abuse or neglect as children either become abusive toward the people close to them or become passive or victims in their adult lives. However, it does not mean that the change is not possible. Instead of passing down the legacy of an abuse or neglect survivor, a legacy of resilience and hope could be passed to the children and other family members.

Some people, who faced repeated cycles of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse as children, do not realize they have established a pattern within themselves until it is well enacted and engrained. They suffer abuse and exploitation at the hands of partners, friends, or coworkers; they could not recognize the connection between what is happening to them in their present and previous history of abuse.”

In his book, he has told the story of his own life, survival, resilience, and how he saw the light at the end of the tunnel and chased it with all might.

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