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by Bruce Whealton

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- Child Abuse
- Insecure Attachment, abuse, emotional deprivation
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Three Times A Victim: Living Under the Shadow of Toxic Shame

Revisions for Chapter 21: Marriage in the Shadows of Shame

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04/12/2025 - 01:34 by brucewhealton	Current revision
02/26/2025 - 13:27 by brucewhealton

About Bruce Whealton

Books ( My Amazon Author Page)
Tell Me I’m Not Invisible Audiobook
Three Times a Victim Audiobook
Support Group - Social Anxiety, Complex-PTSD, Loneliness, and Narcissistic Abuse
Justice Campaign
My Substack - Videos, stories, updates, and insights

Books by Bruce Whealton

Title: Tell Me I Am Not Invisible: A Story of Social Anxiety, Attachment, and Complex-PTSD
Title: A Diary with an AI on Mental Health Matters
Title: Puncture Wounds II - More Nightmares
Title: Memoirs of A Healer/Clinical Social Worker: Autobiography of Bruce Whealton
Title: Three Times A Victim: Living Under the Shadow of Toxic Shame
Title: What Really Matters: Poems about Love, Loss & Trauma
Title: Poems from the Invisible People
Title: Echoes of the Psyche
Title: The Labyrinth of the Mind

Pagination

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Section One – Background Information About the Victim – Me 
Chapter 1: Growing up 
Chapter 2: Going to College 
Chapter 3: Between Graduation from Undergraduate College to the Next Phase of Life
Chapter 4 – Falling in Love
Chapter 5 – Building a Career in a Helping Profession
Chapter 6 – Losing Everything
Chapter 7 – First Injustice
Section Two – Victimization and Questioning by the Police
Chapter 8: Victimization - Part I
Chapter 9: Victimization Part II - the police arrive
Chapter 10: The Nightmare Begins & Gender Biases, Interrogating the Victim
Section Three – Injustice Unfolds – Captivity and A Plea Deal for the Victim
Chapter 11: Holding the Victim Captive First Few Months
Chapter 12: From General Population to Protective Custody
Chapter 13 – Homeless in Durham and Chapel Hill Before the Trial
Section Five: From the Hopes of Marriage, Waking up After a Suicide Attempt
Chapter 14: Another Unexpected Criminal Matter
Chapter 15: A Moment of Solace Then Back Out in the Cold
Chapter 16: A Plea Deal for the Victim
Section Four: Aftermath - A Case that I Never Closed
Chapter 17: Needing to Find Work and an Income
Chapter 18: A Bad Relationship, Trying to Build a Business, and the Scars of Probation
Chapter 19: Homecoming to Wilmington
Chapter 20: Trying to Build a Normal Life
Section Five: From the Hopes of Marriage to Waking up After a Suicide Attempt
Chapter 21: Marriage in the Shadows of Shame
Chapter 22: Elee leaves
Chapter 23: Trauma Therapy
Chapter 24: The Breaking Point
Section Six: Breaking the Silence: Finding my Voice
Chapter 25: After the Fall, a Voice
Chapter 26: Reassembling a Life
Chapter 27: Returning to the Work I Loved
Chapter 28: What Comes After Survival
Chapter 29: Treatment or Control?
Chapter 30: Still Haunted, Still Here
Chapter 31 - Claiming my Truth

Three Times A Victim Podcast

🎧 Three Times a Victim (Podcast)

Open the podcast page »

More about Me

Learn/Read more by clicking on this link to find more writing and creative expression by Bruce Whealton at https://linktr.ee/brucewheatlon

Blood-Covered Victim Called 911, Taken Away in Handcuffs: How a Gentle Therapist Became a Convicted Felon After Being Attacked

On October 1, 2004, I called 911 after being violently attacked in my own home. Despite my bleeding wounds and witnesses who saw my attacker leave unharmed, I was arrested while she went free. The truth about who I was—a compassionate healer dedicated to helping others—was erased overnight, replaced by a false label of "violent offender." This wasn't my choice. It was forced upon me. Now, I'm reclaiming my truth and identity.

Discover the truth and help make it right:

Read the full story - Get the book on Amazon (223 pages, free with Kindle Unlimited) https://brucewhealton.com/victim-book
Short on time? Listen to the podcast instead https://brucewhealton.com/victim-podcast
Want to help now? Even $5 makes a difference on GoFundMe https://gofund.me/f74f4724
Know someone in media? Share this story https://brucewhealton.com/contact