Echoes of Innocence: Survivor

By Stephen Hill

Steve left high school in 1989 with great hopes for the future. Academically gifted and street wise, he survived years of mental turmoil in a family where his father ruled through fear and in which secrets abounded. When he is raped by two men, everything he knows and values disintegrates. With his perceptions of who he is as a man called into question, along with his place in a world which he fears will deride and ridicule him if he tells of his attack, Steve throws himself headlong into a self-destructive lifestyle to kill the pain. Battling everyone and everything, from his father's macho male stereotype to a society that perpetuates untold male rape myths, he knows he must find a way to survive. Echoes of Innocence - Survivor is a ground breaking memoir by new author Stephen Hill demonstrating the impact of the physical act of rape upon men and its psychological consequences. The story charts his own journey up to the age of twenty-five as Steve struggles to come to terms with his rape experience, which he soon discovers is not a one moment in time event but a battle for his very existence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Hill
• Release date: Dec 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311577191

Stephen Hill

Stephen began noting down his experiences in 2008 alongside weekly meetings with a psychologist. From these early meanderings grew a workable manuscript which, with hard work became ‘Echoes of Innocence - Survivor’. Initially written for himself and his family, he began to find the strength to face and work through the traumas of his past. With his wife suggesting that there was little literature of this nature on the market, Steve took a leap of faith. He decided in 2012 to produce a completed book with a view to helping other survivors, their families and to begin dispelling the myths and prejudice surrounding male rape. Stephen is married to Sue, and they have two beautiful daughters, a cat called Daisy and a dog named Ellie. He is a passionate supporter of his home town rugby league club, the Leeds Rhinos, loves fishing and is seldom seen without a book in his hand. He is presently unemployed after being made redundant in February 2013 but this does give him more time to write and Book Two, ‘Echoes of Innocence – Redemption’ will be available in Spring 2014. Stephen can be contacted on Facebook or at 1stephenhill1(at)gmail(dot)com.