Deaf actress relives abuse of childhood in stage show

From: The Argus, CA
Oct. 4, 2002

Proceeds to benefit molestation survivors in deaf community
By Rob Dennis
STAFF WRITER

FREMONT -- Sometimes Terrylene sits backstage and wonders how she gets through the show. Especially the part about Jesse, her stepfather.

Jesse, one of the 11 characters she plays in the one-woman production. Jesse, the man who molested her.

Before she takes the stage, Terrylene steels herself, remembering a note she received from a woman whose life was forever changed by the show and who vowed to help abused children.

"I repeat her note in my head and I do a moment of silence, recognizing that at this very moment that I am about to perform, a child is being abused," she wrote in an e-mail to The Argus. "I pray for their protection, then I go on stage."

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