Tears of the Silenced: An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival

Surviving Severe Child Abuse, Sexual Assault and Leaving the Amish Church

A gripping story that takes you on the journey of a child abuse and sexual assault survivor turned activist. Photo Gallery in the back of the book.

True story of child abuse. When Misty Griffin was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch and subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. Their step-father kept a loaded rifle by the door to make sure the young girls were too terrified to try to escape. No rescue would ever come since the few people who knew they existed did not care.

Sexual abuse among the Amish. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community. Devastated to again find herself in a world of fear, cruelty, and abuse, Misty was sexually assaulted by the bishop. As Misty recalls, “Amish sexual abusers are only shunned by the church for six weeks, a punishment that never seems to work….I knew I had to get help, and one freezing morning in early March, I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. After reporting the bishop, I left the Amish and found myself plummeted into a strange modern world with only a second-grade education and no ID or social security card.”

Misty has a message for abuse survivors: “Please be encouraged, the cycle of abuse can be broken. This is my story of survival and moving past the abuse to embrace my dreams.” In June 2019 Misty graduated nursing school. She continues to work to raise awareness about child abuse and sexual assault. Through Misty’s story, discover:

You are not aloneYour past does not define your futureThe abuse you endured was not your faultMoving forward is possible

If you have read true crime books and child abuse true stories like Educated, A Child Called It or Etched In Sand, then Tears of the Silenced is a must-read.