I must first start out by saying I am also from Lincoln lived here my whole life as did most of my family as you know people who grow up here usually stay and raise our own families, Lincoln is a Town of secrets and people who still worry what their neighbors think ,who and what they may be gossiping about at the local breakfast restaurant so I have a greater respect and admiration for your strength at such a young age, to speak out and the strength of your father for going the lengths he did. My heart was so heavy for your pain and struggles but also burst with pride for speaking out and saving others as you know that you did!!! I Pray that you find a different kind of peace in writing this book a peace in knowing that your not alone we are all praying for those days where your thoughts and dreams take you back. God Bless You and Thank You With much Respect Thayer G.

You are courage, bravery and advocate personified

my heart aches right now reading your story. I'm sorry that you or any child would go through something so horrific and live with it everyday of your life. I can't even comprehend how a human being could do such a thing, so I can not call them human beings. I don't think they even deserve the word animal.
Your courage is undescribable. I admire your attack and fearlessness of putting yourself out there in order for others to hopefully not have this happen to them.
as a parent, i cringe at just the thought of something happening to my daughter so for those who think i hold on too tight. i say whatever to them. i'll hold on and protect her to the best of my abilities. maria

It hurts me to hear of others who have been hurt and abused. Reading briefly about what happened to you, I can honestly say it doesn't bother me in the least to hear that what they did to the man who hurt you. Good riddance. Thank you for coming forward with your story, it's not easy to do. I may try to read it but honestly (as I'm sure happens for you) sometimes it is too difficult for me to read the details of another person being abused... it can be triggering. God Bless You for sharing your story and hopefully it helped you heal a little.

Wow! Very courageous of you. I hope that you are well-surrounded by love and understanding. Those of us who have survived need people like that around us. I congratulate you in your bravery and coming forth. Thank you.

Brave....abso-freaking-lutely brave.

Thank you so much for telling the truth Keith!

Maggie's words today brought me here, to yours. I salute the strength, the spirit and the courage that has brought you so very, very far. Thank you. For sharing your story, for being a link in the chain of all that is Good.

I applaud your strength! Reading this for the first time today, and hope to check out your book soon.

You sir, have some serious guts, and I tip my hat to you. I admire your bravery to tell your story. I'm glad that you decided to let the shame be that of your attacker. God bless and heal your heart!

Hi Keith,

I read about your new book in the PC alumni booklet. I am a fellow PC graduate, class of 1996. I too am a victim of a brutal ambush, attack and rape at the hands of a complete stranger when I was just 16 years old. For the last year or so I have started my own webpage to raise awareness of the issue of sexual abuse of our children. I am currently fighting to have the legislation updated in the state of MA. I have testified in front of the Judiciary Committte in order to pass legislation, House Bill 1523, which would abolish the statute of limitations for reporting the crime of rape of minors. You are such an inspiration and I understand it all. I am proud of you and if you have a moment, please visit my personal webpage, www.voicebychoice.org. I applaud you for shining such a bright light on this issue. We will succeed, we have already proven to be true survivors.

I HOPE these Soul Murders spend their sentences in General Population in prison. That would be poetic justice ... hopefully.

WHAT can be done to change the revolving door justice that we now have? WE KNOW they will repeat! What will it take?

I was raped for years by my ex. After the divorce I decided to do this. Took some candles, a nice warm bath with a bit of clorox in it, and somehow I felt cleansed. It seemed to be a ritual that helped me! (Not sure if that is dangerous, but helped my soul and mind.)

I'm so glad I found this. I hope to God that my husband can stand up someday and acknowledge what happened to him, without shame. He says it's different when you're a boy. Being a woman myself, and never having suffered abuse, I wouldn't know; but I believe him. I wish there was something I could do to remove the pain from his soul, but I can't. I just try to wake him up from the nightmares, and keep an understanding heart when he gives in to his addictions. But it hurts me to see him cowering under guilt and shame that he doesn't deserve. And no matter how much I try to remove that, it's been too hammered into him.

He was first molested - assaulted, really, since it was violent - when he was younger than 4, and raped at 6 or 7. He told his mother when he was 8. She blamed him for the fact that they lost the court case; he wasn't convincing enough on the stand. When the filthy turd sued them for slander and won, to the tune of $100,000, that was his fault too. Everything that hasn't gone right with his family is his fault. Plus she told EVERYONE what happened to him.

He tells me not to hate her, says I owe him that; but some days I just can't help it. Especially when his refusal to believe that she was abusive prevents him from getting the help he needs for his addictions. I hope to God that changes soon.

(If you should happen to visit my blog, don't mention that he was raped. Family members read it who don't know that, and I want to respect his privacy. They know he was abused but not the details.)

Your bravery is inspiring. Thank you for telling your story here.

Only as sick as our secrets...how many people will YOU help by telling your story?

Way to go.

I don't know if I would be able to read your entire story because I could barely breathe through the tears reading this small aspect of it.

I will buy your book when it's available, though, to support you in your incredible journey!! I'll put it on a shelf until a time in my life when I have healed enough to read your words without dragging out my own memories.

You are to be commended on your incredible bravery!

By sharing this story, you've brought some comfort, peace and hope to my life indeed!

How very brave of you to share your story. So many times society forgets that anyone ...any gender...can be a victim of sexual assault, and domestic violence..also child abuse...

Your words are not only a reminder, but also show that anyone can be a survivor!

Keith your story is amazing and truly an inspiration to others who have endured similar pain and secrets. Your strength and courage to speak out is truly admirable and I am sure will help many in similar situations. I commend you for your milestone and a book that I am sure will be a true inspiration to many

Keith your story is amazing and truly an inspiration to others who have endured similar pain and secrets. Your strength and courage to speak out is truly admiral and I am sure will help many in similar situations. I commend you for your milestone and a book that I am sure will be a true inspiration to many

Thank you for sharing your story and raising awareness that sexual abuse ALSO happens to men! Sadly there aren't enough programs for male abuse victims, something I hope changes soon, as it is a vicious cycle. I pray that speaking out helps you in your path to healing.

I want to thank all of you for your thoughtful comments. Your kind words of support, caring and encouragement show that by sharing my story, I not only help myself, but countless others. My novel, Men in My Town, has been released and is available now at Amazon.com. For insight into the storyline, please visit the Men in My Town blog at www.MenInMyTown.Wordpress.com

Thank you,

Keith Smith

I don't even know what to say...speechless. Thanks for your courage to share your story.

you are a survivor, breaking the silence helps. Thanks for sharing your story when you think of violence you don't think of it happening to men but it does and you are making people aware I commend you for your bravery.
I am so sorry you had to endure all of that

Keith, I so admire you. This is a HUGE first step in your healing. I say this because years ago I was a rape victim in my own home. I was one of the lucky ones. I was able to grab a lamp and finally run this guy out of my house. The police later told me this guy had been attacking and horribly beating his victims before me in my neighborhood.

I will tell you what I learned in my rape counseling which helped me. My counselor told me to make myself the victor, not the victim. You were, you survived and he never got to you again. Pick something to remind you about this. You might even ask for a picture of this man after he was murdered to reinforce he is gone, forever.

When you wake up with this fear, stop and make yourself remember you survived and were that victor. Close your eyes and see this in your mind immediately. In my case, I would remember the look on this rapist's face as I was about to hit him with the lamp. Also, remind those near you to always call your name (especially when asleep) before approaching you so as not to alarm you.

God bless you and your healing. You are an amazing guy to have gone through this and survived! I'm glad your rapist is caught and dead, mine was never caught unfortunately.

If you did not go through counseling, please do this to help yourself. Talking about the experience with others is definitely essential to the facing of the situation and the healing process. You have made a huge step here.

I hope the telling of your story will set you free. I can't imagine keeping all those horrors inside for so long. Blessings to you for speaking out.

Eaton.

thank you for speaking up, for ending the silence in your life. i hope that it brings you some of the peace you so much deserve.

I'm so sorry for what happened to you, it is absolutely horrible. I think it is amazingly brave of you to come out with your story. I know that every time someone like you shares a story like this, it helps a countless number of people in so many ways. Thank you for being brave enough to talk about what happened to you.

I will not insult you by saying anything trite. Thank you for sharing your story. You never know how it effects others.

May God bless you and keep you strong.

It breaks my heart that you had to go through this, that anyone would have ts suffer like you have. You are very brave to tell your story and I hope it helps you to exorcise more of that son of a bitch from your memory.

Thank you for having the courage to share your story.

thank you for being so brave, even though you might not feel like you are.

As the mother of a little boy, I cannot thank you enough for speaking out, Keith. Violence and sexual crimes against boys and men are a real problem, and there seem to be so few people willing to talk about it; likely due to shame, stigma, so many signals our society can send to keep quiet. I can only imagine how hard it was for you to put this horrific experience and its aftermath in print, but I think of what a difference it can make for others, and I feel so awed and grateful to you.

You are a survivor. Thank you again, and I wish for continued peace and healing for you.

Thank you for sharing your story. I think that all too often, male sexual violence goes under the radar. It is not spoken of very often. Thank you for having the courage to speak...you never know who you are giving courage.

I'm so sorry for what happened to you.

You do a great and very courageous thing by sharing your story.

Thank you for sharing your story. I hope right along side of you that it brings comfort, peace and hope to others who have suffered. Your story is truly inspiring, to live in silence for so many years and finally find your voice.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

just read an incredible brutal story written by a brave man ~ http://tinyurl.com/c2unmh ~ Keith's in my thoughts and prayers.

Listening...always listening.

Oh, Keith...I'm so so sorry. I hope that writing about it and posting it here will help ease your mental anguish. I hope that you will consider seeing someone, it might help you to get rid of the nightmares.

You're so brave to share your story here, thank you.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and allowing us to benefit from your courage and bravery. I glad you survived to tell the tale and help others.

Some motherfucker tried to get me into his car when I was about 10 one evening about dusk as I was walking our dog. I'll never forget what that car looked like or how happy I was that the random house whose door I started frantically pounding after running from the parked car actually had a resident who was willing to open the door and drive me home. I'm sorry you didn't get away.

*appaulding* Wow. Wow. Wow.

Your story, as horrific as it is, is a very important read for many, many people. Thank you so much for your bravery. Thank you for sharing your story!

Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you can find some "comfort, peace and hope", too.

Thank you for sharing your story. So many men in our society are or have been victims of abuse, but there is an even bigger stigma, and even fewer support services available, for those who do come forward.

I'm so glad you found the courage to speak about this, because I can only imagine how haunted you must have felt keeping this all to yourself so long.

I hope this post and your book will spread the word and the feeling that keeping something like this to yourself only prolongs or even deepens the pain, and letting it out lightens your load and allows you to move on.

This monster's ghost will soon fade to a shadow of its former self, and it will loosen its hold on you no matter where your mind drifts in the future.

I wish you luck in this bright, new chapter of your life.

I hope your story is read by everyone. You are so brave. I am sorry that happened to you. I am thankful you had the courage to write it down and share it. We need more brave men like you to come out and break their own silence.

Thank you for telling your story so that others can feel safe enough to do the same Keith.

I have to say, what caught me most, was that you wouldn't change a thing about what happend to you, so that it wouldn't happen to someone else. THAT takes courage man...not wanting to change the brutality of it all. You are a hero...

Peace,
Lil

You are so brave to share your story. Thank you for finding victory amidst your pain and struggles.

RT @MaggieDammit: New survivor story by a man breaking his 34-year silence. http://violenceunsilenced.com/302/

Thank you.

I am so sorry.