Fighting Back

Kayla Harrison began training in judo at age 6 and is the first American ever to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport, which she did in both 2012 and 2016. Yet her competitive success masked an unimaginable personal struggle. At the age of 16, she revealed that she had been sexually abused by her coach for years. Today, Kayla uses her gold medal profile, voice, and example, as well as her Fearless Foundation, to encourage and empower other survivors of child sexual abuse. Now retired from competing in judo, Kayla is moving into mixed martial arts with the Professional Fighters League. She lives and trains in Boston. Cynthia S. Kaplan, PhD, is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Director of Trauma Training and Consultation in the Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at McLean Hospital. She has worked with numerous survivors of child sexual abuse and is coauthor of Helping Your Troubled Teen. Blaise Aguirre, MD, holds the Michael Hollander, PhD, Endowed Directorship at the 3East Dialectical Behavior Therapy program at McLean Hospital, and is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents: What To Do When Your Teen Has BPD.

Prologue
Introduction
1. How Child Sexual Abuse Begins
2. Keeping the Secret
3. The Tipping Point: Breaking the Silence
4. Freedom with Its Own Chains: What to Expect after Disclosure
5. Recovery: A Long and Winding Road
6. Find the Way to Professional Help
7. From Victim to Survivor
8. How We Can Help: Prevention and Education
Epilogue
Resources