SHARING HOPE

Noblesville resident writes book based on personal experience of childhood abuse

By Matthew Kent matthew@youarecurrent.com

A Noblesville resident wants to provide inspiration to others who have experienced abuse after detailing her own personal struggles through the release of a new book.

Jessica Pearson, who grew up in Clayton, Ga., wrote, “Imagining the Darkness,” which recounts her life as a child. Pearson said she was abused by her stepfather after her mother remarried and eventually decided to write the book, which she started in November 2020.

Pearson said that it became very clear that a lot of time was lost from her childhood because of an abusive stepfather. Her mother also battled cancer for eight years, she said.

“After she died, I started writing and recalling all of those bad memories and trying to put the pieces together as far as, ‘Why do I not have good memories of my childhood, and why do I have so few memories of my childhood?’” Pearson said. “And then realizing it was because I suffered a lot, and so did my siblings, and we all had different reactions to the trauma and chose to deal with it differently.”

Pearson, who moved to Noblesville in 2010, started working at Rosie’s Place, a local restaurant, when she first arrived and now works at a local construction firm. Since then, she had time to work on her book, which she initially thought would be an online blog, but she decided to continue writing it in a book form because of the amount of content.

More than 600,000 children are abused in the U.S. each year, according to the National Children’s Alliance website. The Washington, D.C.-based organization, which describes itself as having the largest network of care centers supporting child abuse victims, said that neglect is the most common form of abuse followed by physical abuse, sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

“Hopefully, sharing what I’ve been through will encourage someone else to do the same,” Pearson said.

Pearson said when writing the book, she chose not to use certain names in an attempt not to offend anyone. However, she said sharing her personal story was one she wanted to share with others.

“For me, it’s very liberating, it’s very freeing to be able to have someone else have my story, to let it go, so that I don’t have to hold onto it anymore” Pearson said.

Pearson said the COVID-19 lockdown also gave her the ability to write more and to travel because she worked from home at the time. She finished her book at the end of last year, she said.

“I think more than anything, I want people to know it’s OK to share what you’ve been through, and your story matters and it may help someone else someday, and I want to empower people to speak their truth, not just for themselves, but for others,” Pearson said.

Pearson, who is a mom to three children and is also a yoga instructor, also said writing the book empowered herself in being able to let go of the horrors of her childhood. The book, which was published by BookBaby, will be released May 9 and will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other locations.

“I’m not afraid to share it. I’m not afraid to talk about it and it doesn’t have control over me anymore,” she said. “And so, I feel it gave me the freedom to embrace who I am now because I’m not who I was when I was 7.”

Meet Jessica Pearson

Age: 37

City: Noblesville

Occupation: Project coordinator

Family: Married to husband Jason. They have three children

Website: hecallsmebird.com

ON THE COVER: