Producer's Statement

This project arose from the generous legacy of Mary Hall Singleton, who wanted Georgia Public Broadcasting to produce a television documentary on the evils of child abuse. As a producer I wondered how to approach such a huge and daunting subject. After much research, expert consultations and conversations with many people, I realized that child abuse impacts different people in different ways as they grow up. Some are devastated by it and never fully recover; while others mysteriously manage to go on with their lives and even thrive.

So my question became: why are some people able to transcend the abuse they received as children? How did they do it? And what can we learn from their experiences? I set out to find such people and this is how Johnnetta McSwain and Michael McClain came to be the central figures in the documentary, The Road Beyond Abuse.

Johnnetta was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama but moved to Atlanta to start a new life after her experience of childhood abuse. Michael’s family moved across the U.S. repeatedly while he grew up and lives today in Augusta, Georgia. Both endured extremely severe forms of child abuse, from years of physical and emotional violence to devastating sexual abuse in Johnnetta’s case. If we had taken a snapshot of these two when they were ten years old, we might predict they would never be able to make it. Yet both are now living lives of accomplishment and apparent normality.

Johnnetta at age 38 has a Master of Social Work from Clark Atlanta University and Michael at age 20 is a scholarship student at Georgia Military College in Augusta. Johnnetta is also a very good mother. Her older son, RaShod, is the first male in their family to complete high school and has entered the military where he plans to obtain a college education. Michael is engaged to be married and plans to be a loving father to his future children.

There is, however, a dark side in The Road Beyond Abuse. Johnnetta has a sister, Sonya, who is older by 11 months. The two sisters were abused by family members over the course of several years. Yet Johnnetta’s life direction went up, while Sonya’s spiraled down into drug abuse, mental illness and suicide attempts. What was the difference between the two? Through the course of the documentary we learn that Sonya protected Johnnetta and sometimes took the brunt of the abuse. Filled with anger, she found no one to mentor her as a child or as a teenager. Johnnetta’s outgoing personality drew people to her who wanted to help.

Michael ultimately lost his entire family through drug abuse, alcoholism and violent death. His sister Laura, who was sexually abused by their father, disappeared after leaving foster care at age 18. Yet Michael is smart and has always loved school, so teachers and others stepped into his life at crucial moments.

There is a field in psychology devoted to the study of “resilience” in individuals who have endured severe traumatic experiences. Michael and Johnnetta were resilient children and are now resilient adults. The question is: are resilient children born or made? Can people be taught to be resilient? This is one of the questions asked in the program which follows the documentary – The Road Beyond Abuse: A Discussion.

Prominent Georgia experts from the courts, government and nonprofit agencies examine other provocative questions in The Road Beyond Abuse: A Discussion. For instance, what are the signs of child abuse? How do we recognize when something bad is going on with a child at his or her home? Is it better to take a child out of an abusive home or to work with healing and strengthening the family? Can child abuse be prevented? How can communities help? How can individuals help? Is there a way to teach people to become better parents? In this era of budget cuts and severe economic downturn, where do we put our money in the fight against child abuse? Simple questions but the answers are often complex and challenging.

On a personal note, this project has forever impacted my life. Before starting to work on The Road Beyond Abuse, I was already aware of how dire a problem child abuse is for our society. But I was not prepared for the power of the stories told by Johnnetta McSwain and Michael McClain. I did not know that extraordinary heroism could emerge from such tragic origins.

Remember the movie “Rocky?” Their stories are Rocky multiplied by a thousand. In The Road Beyond Abuse we see young people whose spirits could have been crushed or even killed by forces beyond their control. They could have descended into crime, drug abuse or become abusers themselves. Like so many others, they could have continued the legacy of abuse which runs from generation to generation within families. But Johnnetta and Michael broke the cycle of abuse and by doing so, they changed the future destiny of their own families.

Ultimately, I am amazed that Johnnetta and Michael had the courage to share stories which some might find shameful or embarrassing. Would I have done the same thing with nothing to gain? I can’t answer that question. But I know why Johnnetta and Michael have chosen to tell their stories. They want to help others. They want to stop the abuse of children in the world. They want to give hope to those searching to find their own road beyond abuse.

- Pam Roberts