Who Will Wipe My Tears Away?

In the compelling memoir Who Will Wipe My
Tears Away?, Earlina Gilford-Weaver tells the story of how
she survived childhood sexual abuse and was later saved by
God.
Earlina was nine years old when she was
first sexually abused by uncles who were entrusted to care
for her, but instead, robbed her of her innocence. Raised by
an emotionally-distant mother and an overwhelmed
grandmother, Earlina's journey through childhood became
agonizing. She relays how she dealt with her internal pain
by stealing, lying, and running away-eventually becoming a
ward of the state. After she was moved from group homes to
foster care where she would stay with over twenty different
families, Earlina was once again sexually molested by the
males who surrounded her. All the while, Earlina would
continually ask herself the same question: Why isn't God
wiping my tears away? It would not be until much later when
Earlina walked into a church on her birthday that she would
realize God had been by her side all along.
Throughout Earlina's heartbreaking story is an unforgettable
message that through it all, loving yourself-no matter what
others have done to you-is the key to surviving even the
worst of circumstances.