Play & Book Excerpts
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A Fierce Belief in Miracles
(She Writes Press)
© 2020 Anne Reeder Heck
Excerpted from: Miracles, Chapter 13
Two days later, as I was folding laundry in the living room, I received a phone call from Prince William County. Upon seeing the words highlighted on my caller ID, I felt my body tighten, my breath falter. I answered the phone with hesitation.
“This is Detective Newsome with the Prince William County Police Department. Is this Anne?” His voice was soft and friendly. It was strange hearing that voice—so familiar yet so removed from my present experience. It took me a moment to make the connection. Newsome. The detective who worked my case. I haven’t heard from him in years. I felt anxious about what he might say next.
“Got a call two days ago from the state prison in West Virginia. There’s been a DNA match for your case.”
Silence.
My mind and emotions flickered between past and present. Chills ran up my arms. Two days ago, I thought, I affirmed my strength. I sank onto the couch, spilling freshly folded pants and pillowcases onto the floor, the receiver still tight to my ear. Fourteen years. It had been fourteen years since I was brutally attacked and raped.
“The fellow’s been charged in a similar case. A West Virginia woman was sexually assaulted in her home the day before you. Same pattern—hit her in the face and raped her. He stole her car.”
I wondered about her smile.
The detective spoke with compassion. “This is a lot to digest,” he said, “so be good to yourself.”
Newsome’s voice hung in the air while time seemed suspended, the details of my surroundings somehow melding with his words. Yes, I’ll be good to myself. I’ll allow my emotions to settle, ripen like the pears on my counter. Then I’ll take small bites to support digestion. Realizing I’d stopped breathing, I took a deep breath and sighed audibly.
“I’m okay. I’m no longer that emotionally attached,” I said, without considering if this was true. I felt lightheaded. “I’m glad they’ve caught him,” I added. “I’ll help in any way I can.”
The moment I placed the phone down, I was in tears—tears filled with years of contained distress and fear, and now relief and gratitude. I was flooded with feelings, including the anger that I’d linked to this episode for years. I felt a fledgling fear of going to court—or was it excitement? Both felt the same in my body. And his phone call had answered my prayer for strength—I couldn’t begin to call it a synchronicity. The enormity of it felt overwhelming. Some power outside of me was definitely responding to my intentions. If what I was seeking was strength, I was certain I was on the right path.
Two days later, as I was folding laundry in the living room, I received a phone call from Prince William County. Upon seeing the words highlighted on my caller ID, I felt my body tighten, my breath falter. I answered the phone with hesitation.
“This is Detective Newsome with the Prince William County Police Department. Is this Anne?” His voice was soft and friendly. It was strange hearing that voice—so familiar yet so removed from my present experience. It took me a moment to make the connection. Newsome. The detective who worked my case. I haven’t heard from him in years. I felt anxious about what he might say next.
“Got a call two days ago from the state prison in West Virginia. There’s been a DNA match for your case.”
Silence.
My mind and emotions flickered between past and present. Chills ran up my arms. Two days ago, I thought, I affirmed my strength. I sank onto the couch, spilling freshly folded pants and pillowcases onto the floor, the receiver still tight to my ear. Fourteen years. It had been fourteen years since I was brutally attacked and raped.
“The fellow’s been charged in a similar case. A West Virginia woman was sexually assaulted in her home the day before you. Same pattern—hit her in the face and raped her. He stole her car.”
I wondered about her smile.
The detective spoke with compassion. “This is a lot to digest,” he said, “so be good to yourself.”
Newsome’s voice hung in the air while time seemed suspended, the details of my surroundings somehow melding with his words. Yes, I’ll be good to myself. I’ll allow my emotions to settle, ripen like the pears on my counter. Then I’ll take small bites to support digestion. Realizing I’d stopped breathing, I took a deep breath and sighed audibly.
“I’m okay. I’m no longer that emotionally attached,” I said, without considering if this was true. I felt lightheaded. “I’m glad they’ve caught him,” I added. “I’ll help in any way I can.”
The moment I placed the phone down, I was in tears—tears filled with years of contained distress and fear, and now relief and gratitude. I was flooded with feelings, including the anger that I’d linked to this episode for years. I felt a fledgling fear of going to court—or was it excitement? Both felt the same in my body. And his phone call had answered my prayer for strength—I couldn’t begin to call it a synchronicity. The enormity of it felt overwhelming. Some power outside of me was definitely responding to my intentions. If what I was seeking was strength, I was certain I was on the right path.
Photo Courtesty: Anne Reeder Heck
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Anne Reeder Heck’s new memoir offers both guidance and solace for those seeking healing, those ready to explore paths of forgiveness and spirituality. A Fierce Belief in Miracles: My Journey from Rape to Healing and Wholeness is a powerful and uplifting memoir of determination and trust. It’s for anyone who believes in - or questions - the existence of miracles.
The story recounts Anne’s experience, who at age 26 was enjoying a morning bicycle ride in northern Virginia when she was stopped by a man asking for directions. She was violently beaten and raped. Anne is tenacious in her pursuit to heal the pain permeating her body after the rape, and she devotes herself to a healing quest that opens her to the transformative power of intention, intuition and trust. Her prayers for strength are synchronistically answered with a DNA match and identification of her rapist 14 years after the crime. Featured on the front page of The Washington Post and by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, Anne shares her story to offer hope and support to others navigating their way to wholeness. Gail Straub, award-winning author and co-founder of Empowerment Institute calls Heck’s work “a courageous and generous account of one woman’s healing journey and a testament to resilience of the human spirit.” In this inspiring story, readers will witness the beauty that emerges from darkness, the goodness that is born of ill-guided acts, and the perfection of all that transpires on this path we call life. |
