Why, Father?

Gerri Mayo shares her memoir of surviving sexual abuse beginning in childhood. Growing up in a small village in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, she was first abused by her father, then by her local priest at her father's arrangement. When her mother discovered the abuse, she took her own life. Following these events, Gerri and her siblings were separated and placed in different foster homes. Her foster parents, told that her mother had committed a grave sin, treated her unkindly. She spent years feeling lonely and abandoned. The abuse Gerri endured was severe enough to require surgery to repair physical damage. When asked who was responsible, she named the priest, but was not believed in her 1960s Northern Ireland town, where priests were viewed as acting under God's direct authority. After meeting her husband, Gerri decided to tell her story. This is her account of survival.