The woman who was sued by the recently deceased Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias is asking his family to release her from her non-disclosure agreement (NDA) so that she can tell her side of the story about what transpired between them in the wake of his death.
The story of why that NDA was signed and the events leading up to them can be found here, but needless to say it involves emotional affairs, sexting, blackmail, lawsuits and suicide threats.
The emotional video was live-streamed on Periscope by Lori Anne Thompson and has been embedded below. The entire transcript will not be posted, but simply the parts directly relevant to the NDA. Thompson begins by recounting how she and her sibling we’re sexually abused by their father for years, and continue to experience emotional trauma as an adult. Relating that to her current situation, she says in the video:
“Oppressors and those who applaud them can rarely take the high road. Low is their way. They manipulate people on how to think, feel and act. Control is their game. We must be people of liberty. Inform and leave in peace. Strike only where you must — and you rarely must.
I say this as one who has been stricken and as one whose words have been stolen. Under excruciating circumstances, I signed a non-disclosure agreement that does not permit me to defend myself, leaving me once again defenceless. To take the capacity to speak a person’s word may be the final blow. Freedom of speech is not only the First Amendment Right, it is also part of what it means to be fully human. After extensive trauma informed care, I am taking this moment to ask the “heirs” of that NDA for a full release from its terms and agreements — as my husband and I now have nothing that we do not wish disclosed.
In answer to the many cruel and baseless allegations… Being a private person by nature, I write to express myself. Having had little or no good nurture and guidance to frame my world, literature has in many ways been a lifeline to me since I was a young girl. While I love books, I have no book deals — nor would I accept any. I am not famous — nor do I wish to be. I write to name my world — it helps me to know the truth of what I have known. It is not “profitable to a victim” — it is painful.
May I remind you, that some people’s lives are an inspiration — others, upon careful inspection — are a warning. I have learned lessons from both the beautiful and the brutal. Each have schooled me on what and what not to be. I seek a quiet life, a regular routine, a full family, and a purposeful path.
To my fellow betrayal trauma survivors, I believe you to be people of great courage, untapped wisdom, and expansive compassion — as my sister said, your capacity is much greater. I know you know and understand the way that I have taken — there is solidarity that comes from suffering. Take courage dear hearts, many see. By way of counsel, may I suggest you NEVER sign an NDA.”
