Searching for Angela Shelton: We can change the world one survivor at a time
I lied for my dad the whole time. I’ve been making excuses for him since I was 8 years old. I’m on a mission. I’m on a crusade and I cannot stop, because a lot of people said, ‘You’re an actress, you’re in Hollywood. You’re gonna reveal that you were molested as a child? Are you crazy? There goes your career.' But, honestly, I don’t care.
- Angela Shelton
It's not very often that I run across a story that brings me to tears, but the story of Angela Shelton had me looking for the Kleenex. On the one hand, Ms. Shelton is a beautiful, talented, and very successful actress. On the other hand, she has been hiding a dark and terrible secret since her early childhood- one that no child should have to suffer through at the hands of a parent.
I saw this story on Friday night on "48 Hours". What I found so unique about it was the way in which Ms. Shelton has chosen to deal with her history of abuse, as well as her abuser- her father. In her case, sexual abuse really was the game the whole family can play.
Rather than deal with her pain by turning inward and retreating, Angela Shelton decided to face her demons head on. While she may not have vanquished them completely, she has transformed her experience into something positive. That by itself is worthy of applause. This Angela Shelton is one extraordinary woman.
As a Hollywood screenwriter, model and actress, Angela Shelton lives much of her life on film.
But for years, this cover girl has covered a dark secret – an unexposed snapshot of her past.
“It was a door that you shut. And just zip it and don’t talk about it again,” says Angela, who always knew that she would have to face her painful past one day. She just didn’t know how.
Then in 2001, she had an idea. In a quest to find herself...she would make a very unusual documentary.
Angela’s idea was to hit the road in a rented RV, and try to meet as many women as she could who were also named Angela Shelton.
Why? She had a hunch that many of those women would share something else besides just a name – something much more personal.
Her hunch proved to be correct. What I found so disturbing about this story was not just the experiences of the protagonist Angela Shelton, but of the other Angela Sheltons as well. Half of the Angelas she talked to had been sexually abused, and all of them knew at least one woman who had been, most as children.
What does it say about the state of our society when so many women have directly or indirectly been the victims of sexual violence. And that so many were victimized as children?
I'll spare you the details; you can read them for yourself if your are so inclined. I find it difficult to understand how a parent can use his own children so cravenly for his own sexual gratification. I'm not certain that I want to understand. What I truly don't understand, though, is how this monster is still allowed to walk the street a free man.
I'm not a believer in the death penalty, but if you were to argue that Angela Shelton's father has forfeited his right to live, you'd get no argument from me.
What it so truly heart-warming about this story is that Angela Shelton has been able to tame her demons enough to be able to use her experiences to help others. The impact that she's had on the women she met is something to behold. Several could have ended up living miserable, embittered lives, and who could blame them? If nothing else, at least they know that they're not alone.
