“He was a spiritual leader, after all — not a monster. Surely, I could trust him.”

"Mere months after my assault, I smiled in front of the college's smelly South Georgia pond — Ms. Purity Culture and captain of the cheer squad," the author writes.

"Even as a respected voice for women's rights in publishing, academia, public speaking, and writing, it still took 20 years to recognize my own sexual assault," the author writes.

Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber is a public speaker and award-winning author of ten books, including “Queering the American Dream” and the forthcoming “Traveling Free.” Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Forbes, NPR, The Advocate, Ms. Magazine, and more. For more info, visit www.angelayarber.org.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost in March 2026.