Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2638

Tonight's special guest is Doug Probst from Long Beach, California, a professional musician who survived horrible child abuse, in and out of the system, in prison and on the streets. He chronicled his story in his book, 'Mayotte: Musings Of A Narcissist: A Survivor's Story', saying, "It's a brutally honest description of my childhood, which was scarred with physical and sexual abuse by my parents, priests, probation officers and others who were my authority figures in the LA County Probation System." Now 55 and in recovery, Doug explains, "As long as I wake up grateful every day thanking God for another chance to begin over, I feel very good about the day. I take each day one day at a time. Today is a gift with no guarantees." He goes on, "I was born into addiction with an alcoholic mother and a child rapist father. Later, I was placed into boys' homes where some adults required sexual favors for proper care." This was in Northern California. "My father was a cold, scary man and a child rapist. He raped and beat me and my sister many times from the age of two until I was taken out of the home by authorities at age 12." Healing started in Doug's 50s. "When my son was born in 1990, he changed my life. I was now living for him and I sacrificed my career in music to take care of him full time. I wasn't the perfect parent as I still had a lot of unresolved anger BUT - I NEVER HIT HIM. I couldn't imagine hitting him. Joshua is 31 today and we have a great relationship. I've been a California substance abuse counselor for five years and I facilitate groups on how to heal from sexual assault as a child."