Monday, July 13, 2015

Open Letter to Felicia Cabrita

May 14, 2015

 Dear Felicia,

 My name is Sylvie Imelda Shene, and I have a story for you.

My niece that lives in Portugal told me that you exposed the sex abuse of children in the orphanage of Casa Pia in Portugal and that you might be interested in my story.

I congratulate you on your courage to give a voice and bring justice to the victims of these atrocities. I can only imagine the backlash you got and are still getting from exposing these sociopaths in power positions. 

While growing up in Portugal in the seventies, my older sisters took me to see Dr. Julio Machado Vaz.  He was a young doctor then, and his methods of treatment left me worse off.

In the years 2000 and 2004, I was in Portugal, and I tried to contact the media there to raise awareness about how most doctors and most people in the helping professions who have not faced their own childhood repression can cause more damage to their patients under the guise of help. I never heard back from the media, so when I returned to the United States, I began thinking about writing a book.

Last summer, I published my book about how to recover from childhood trauma, using my own experiences growing up poor in rural Portugal, being sexually abused by Dr. Julio Machado Vaz, working as a topless dancer, and discovering the groundbreaking works of psychologist Alice Miller. My book, A Dance to Freedom, is part memoir and part self-help, and I’m proud to say it’s touched many people around the world.

Working on this book was a labor of love for me. I’m not a wealthy person, but I managed to save and raise (through the crowdfunding site Indiegogo) the money I needed to get the book out into the world. It took me five years and four ghostwriters to get it right, but it’s all been worth it.

If you think you can help me get my story told in Portugal, I’d really appreciate it.

I am enclosing a copy of my book, and thanks so much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Sylvie Imelda Shene

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