The Badass Girl's Guide: Uncommon Strategies to Outwit Predators Paperback - 2017

CJ Scarlet was 19, a freshman in college, when she was raped by a sheriff's deputy she had just started dating. Four months later, she was sexually assaulted by her Marine Corps recruiter. For a decade CJ grappled with the trauma of these events. She had already survived childhood sexual abuse, so these latest assaults manifested an even deeper level of shame and self-loathing. She came to believe that she must have a big "V" tattooed on her forehead that announced to every predator within a mile that she was an ideal victim. Eventually, CJ found healing through therapy and self-help books, and somewhere along the way she came to love and forgive herself and her assailants. But the real turning point came when she grew tired of the trauma owning her life. CJ took her power back and became an advocate for others who had been victimized. She served on the board of the local rape crisis center and took the helm as executive director of a child advocacy center, both while working to complete her master's degree in human violence. She then served for three years as Director of Victims Issues for the North Carolina Attorney General's Office, where she implemented the first statewide automated victim notification system that notifies survivors before their perpetrators are released from custody. CJ holds a B.A. in Political Science from Virginia Wesleyan College, and an interdisciplinary M.A. in Humanities with an emphasis on Human Violence and graduate certificate in Women's Studies from Old Dominion University. The former roller-skating car hop, U.S. Marine and forest firefighter is an award-winning writer, motivational speaker and entrepreneur. She has given presentations and workshops at national and international events, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including MSNBC and NPR. CJ has also been named one of the "Happy 100" people on the planet, and is featured in the bestselling books, Happy for No Reason and Be Invincible.