Callen Harty

Empty Playground Callen Harty

When most people think of child molesters they think of children lured into vans or victims of creepy old men lurking around school grounds. They don't think of Josh Duggar's sisters or Irish Catholic boys from rural Wisconsin getting abused repeatedly by an older brother. They should. That is the reality. That is the untold story of untold millions. Empty Playground is a memoir that shares the journey from childhood sex abuse through the repercussions suffered and into recovery and healing. It is the story of a male survivor, an often overlooked segment of the survivor community. It is a story often lived but not often told as men, both gay and straight, are so reluctant to speak about their abuse and often stay silent about their emotions as well. It has only been in the last decade or so that male survivors have been added to the discussion of sexual assault but the topic has more recently become recognized, particularly with the revelations of several well-known survivors, among them basketball player Keyon Dooling, hockey player Theo Fleury, and actor Tyler Perry. They have all told their stories. There are countless other stories out there about ordinary people who have survived similar abuse, but most of them remain untold. Empty Playground is one such story, told with an unflinching directness and gentle honesty.