Unbroken – speaking the unspeakable

NOTE FROM TED: This talk contains a discussion of sexual assault and suicide. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf "I remember wishing they would kill me to make it all end." It takes courage to speak the unspeakable. But for many years, Madeleine Black felt too afraid and too ashamed to utter a word of what happened to her. Violently attacked at the age of thirteen, her story is one of pain – but also of recovery, strength, and forgiveness. Through her words, Madeleine hopes to help others find the courage to speak up, whatever their story. And to show us that it's not the traumatic events in our life that define us, but by how we choose to reclaim our lives after them. How we become unbroken.