IntroductionIn recent years, due to the church sexual abuse scandal, child sexual abuse has become one of the most high-profile crimes in the United States . Unfortunately, despite this new interest in the scandalous subject of abuse, incest and more common cases of sexual abuse involving the family continue to be overlooked by society and the media. Naturally, intrafamilial sexual abuse is a delicate and complex subject to recognize and analyze. Yet by completely ignoring the subject, we are doing a great disservice to the victims who actually have to endure these atrocious crimes and remain silent in fear. Additionally, by choosing not to recognize that children are more likely to be abused by a family member than by a stranger, we are consistently sending the wrong message to children about who the abusers really are and what they really look like. . While it is possible that a given rapist is an unknown and suspected attacker, it is much more likely that the attacker is an acquaintance or family member. In order to correct many of these misconceptions, society needs to be introduced to true stories of incest and actively engage in conversations aimed at preventing future victimization. In When the Piano Stops: A Memoir on Healing from Sexual Abuse, Catherine McCall addresses the issue of incest in a direct and honest way that implores readers not only to respectfully listen to her story, but also to reevaluate what it is. what they were told about the abuse. Without reservation, she also wants to encourage readers (mainly victims of abuse) not to be afraid to speak out or report abuse to authorities. In his dedication, McCall states that his primary purpose in writing his memoir is... middle of paper... religious. In other situations, a trusted friend or family member would be just as beneficial. Overall, When the Piano Stops is an exceptional book that highlights a problem that is unfortunately too often ignored by society. But more importantly, I think Catherine's story offers comfort to victims who might otherwise feel alone in their fight against such devastating victimization. Although sometimes gritty due to the graphic nature with which it depicts sexual abuse, the story acts as a representative of the thousands of other victims' stories that go untold every day. If there is one adjective I could choose to describe McCall, I would definitely say she is courageous. Hopefully McCall's story will inspire other victims to also speak out about incest so that it becomes a more visible (and therefore preventable) crime in society..