A Few Comments from Readers Over the Years


"This work is much-needed and long-overdue."  Rev. Dr. Karl Harman, a close personal friend who paid a dear price in standing for justice against a colleague who sexually abused a developmentally-delayed adult, a teenager, and others in the American Baptist church Karl pastored in the mid-90's. Karl has since passed away.

"My husband and I found Dee's materials at a time of great personal pain because of the way my denomination had minimized my personal experience and re-victimized us. For us, her words were poignantly insightful, thought-provoking, validating and empowering. A good tool, especially for anyone working with conservative or fundamentalist denominations!" A Seventh-Day Adventist Survivor.

"....insightful and easy to understand. I very much appreciate how it honors the hard work of those who have struggled for justice and dignity. With clarity, sensitivity and a touch of humor, it carries hope to those who still live in the pain caused by abuse."  Frances Park, Universalist Unitarian survivor-activist

"I've always known I wasn't alone. Thanks for providing help for which I have so desperately been searching." from a survivor, responding to an article in The Journal of Christian Nursing.

"An empowering work, building up the community of faith by challenging us to examine our active and unintentional collusion with dynamics of abuse." The Rev. Dr. Sarah M. Rieth, Episcopal priest and pastoral psychotherapist, Charlotte, North Carolina.

"This writer has contributed greatly to the enlightenment of individual Christians and churches on this most troubling subject."  Deborah Dail, survivor in Dallas, Texas, abused by a Southern Baptist minister..

"Your writing has spurred me on to action!" A Nebraska survivor.

"I have (in reading your book) experienced God's grace, holding and carrying me. I don't feel so alone."  A male minister, also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at a mission boarding school.

"As a therapist, working with clergy abuse survivors, I was enlightened to read How Little We Knew. Miller's words have been an inspiration to many survivors looking for an answer to abuse. I have recommended her book and articles to several clients, to their delight." Kathy Anderson M.S. Sacramento, CA

"The article (in The Other Side) reminded me that although my local church may be in deep denial, I am not unique in my story."  An Illinois survivor.

"Thank you for playing a part in restoring my life."  A survivor of domestic violence in the parsonage.

"The Truth will eventually free the church from this terrible bondage. Thank you for having the courage to confront." A reader in Wisconsin.

"I have read your articles in Baptists Todayand truly appreciate your insight and desire to bring healing to the church and the victims of abuse within the church."  Dr. Thomas A. DeVenny, former pastor of First Bapt. Church, Piedmont, S. Carolina.

"A very good account of the process of spiritual assault on people who try to stand up for truth."  A survivor-advocate in Montana.

"Words are not adequate to express my emotions, my reality of the connection between us."  A United Methodist clergywoman and survivor.

"Congratulations on the publication of your book! ....there are so many people who are wonderfully well-intended. But there is this oppressive sense of being defeated that gets in the way of their changing anything. I guess it's up to people like us to get them past that."  Alice Vachss, author of Sex Crimes(Random House, 1993).

"Your book is a very powerful testament of endurance and survival in the face of incredible denial."  a survivor abused by a minister of Evengelical Lutheran Churches of America.

"Thank you, Ron and Dee, for continuing to have the courage to speak the truth in the face of ongoing opposition....a voice crying in the wilderness about the rampant collusion in all denominations...a light of hope...a sign to me that the Holy Spirit is actively present still and that the love of God will not abandon those whom the institutional church would prefer to forget."  Diana Doncaster, an Episcopal advocate.

"It's kind of pathetic when another woman can tell me her story, but she's actually just telling me my story, with different names....(In connecting with other readers through the author's facilitation), I feel like I've discovered a whole new world and I'm happy, shocked, and dismayed." a Baptist survivor.

"You are really telling a story that needs to be told."  an advocate in Texas.

"I commend you for your work. I don't worry about causing bad PR for pastors and ministers who abuse their flock. Christians have been uncovering the World's problems for years and I think it about time we uncovered some of our own. I also think that as the World watches this happen they will know that we aren't hypocrites."  Marilyn, an Internet respondent.

"A wake-up call for the religious community...an excellent resource for counselors and counselees." Audra Trull, book reviewer, The Theological Educator.

"Your courage to apply the content of faith and gospel to situations you have encountered in your ministry will bring eternal vindication of the discomforts created by systems which are more committed to self-preservation than to justice." Garland L. Robertson, former Air Force chaplain.

(In a book review of How Little We Knew)"This book is one that needs to be read by churches, missions, missionaries and MKs. It is not only time to become educated, but for us to confront the denial on our own doorsteps."  Sharon Koon, executive director of MK's (kids of missionaries) in Recovery.

"What you've written needs to be said and was a challenge to me in my administrative position."  Warren H. Day, Director of Candidate Personnel, African Inland Mission International, Inc.

"I'm glad to know about your writing and will refer to your concept of DIM thinking in my workshops." Rev. Micki Esselstyn, M. Div., MSW, The Art of Living Ministries, Gainesville, Florida.

"Just the very words that I have had in my heart & head...but haven't always been able to articulate."  From a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod survivor, after reading How Little We Knew.

"The attempt to cover up, minimize and invalidate the truth may be fiction in The Truth about Malarkey but this account parallels reality all too closely. The author enables the reader to feel the muddiness of the 'waters' in such communities by showing that instead of becoming a black and white issue within religious communities, revelations of Clergy Sexual Abuse become confused as church leaders and other members advise that such things 'happened so long ago as to not be meaningful today'...or that parishioners and victims must 'forgive'...or that accusations 'could not possibly be true if the accused has 'done good' in his career.' I recommend this book as a good representation of the attitudes and confusion that victims, associate victims and leaders with courage must face if church communities are ever going to begin to deal effectively with such crimes."  from a review on Barnes and Noble's site.


Dee Ann Miller released 3rd book in May, 2017, this one related to the Spotlight movie. This makes three on the topic of collusion with what is now known as #Churchtoo. Check out Enlarging Boston's Spotlight: A Call for Courage, Integrity, and Institutional Transformation (2017) How Little We Knew: Collusion and Confusion with Sexual Misconduct (1993) and The Truth about Malarkey (2000)