Secrets. Everybody has them. We can choose to disclose them to intimate friends or we can bury them...deeply in our graves of shame; in the innermost alcoves of our consciousness, not recognizing that they have rooted themselves so far into our essence, that if unchecked, become the insidious driving force that shapes every life decision. In "My Pretty...and Its Ugly Truth" De'Vonna Bentley-Pittman reveals her very personal and raw experiences of being a very pretty girl plagued by sexual abuse, rape, unhealthy relationships and the effects of growing up in poverty. Her coming-of-age journey from a misused "product of the streets" to an empowered advocate for those, particularly young women, who feel powerless due to years of abuse, is a fascinating one. Like so many others, she grew up in a single-parent household with a mother who worked hard to provide for her children. The "streets" called her away from home, and she was led into a tangled web of promiscuity - unhealthy relationships, drugs, pregnancy, and almost selling her very soul. In spite of everything she lost, she never lost the one thing that would propel her forward -- hope. As a speaker, teacher, writer, and editor, who constantly looks for ways to inspire others, I find "My Pretty...and Its Ugly Truth" to be that kind of inspiration. I laughed, I cried, I winced, I gasped, I sighed...and now I salute De'Vonna Bentley-Pittman. She is the voice today for victims of sexual abuse careening down a desperate and confused path. She is that Moses, that Harriet Tubman of our time that can and will lead others to a promised land of hope, and to their very own beautiful truth. -Menia Buckner
About the Author: De'Vonna Bentley-Pittman is an Author, Blogger, Public Speaker and Healthy Sexuality Advocate. She is committed to providing leadership and training to end the sexual exploitation of young girls and boys and uses her memoir as a tool to educate others. As a former Board Member of the Sexual Violence Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mrs. Pittman continues to play a very active role within the organization and lends her philanthropic efforts by supporting the very survival of the organization. She graduated from Metropolitan State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Human Services, and a minor in Community Corrections. She is currently pursuing a Graduate degree in Public Policy Leadership. In 2015, she published "Lyrical Freedoms from the Heart," a collection of rants, spoken word, opinions, and poetry. She is currently in the process of publishing a novel. "Shame is such a powerful element of abuse. So powerful, that it causes even witnesses to retreat. Silence breeds abuse and if we don't expose abuse, we give power to it. And, when we give power to it, we create opportunities for it to happen to many others over and over again. No predator deserves that kind of opportunity." - De'Vonna Bentley-Pittman