The Victor Marx Story

Because of the wrong choices of others, Victor suffered sexual abuse and physical and mental torture between the ages of 3 and 7. His mother was married six times. Several of Victor's stepfathers were troubled with serious issues of their own; one was a pimp and drug dealer, and another was convicted for killing a man. With chaos as his only constant companion, Victor began doing drugs in the sixth grade to escape his pain.

As a young adult, Victor channeled his anger into martial arts, quickly becoming a black belt. Joining the Marine Corps gave structure to his life, but did nothing to heal the wounds of his past. It eventually caught up with him. Despite multiple visits to psychiatrists and being medically treated for mental illness, Victor still was not able to get relief from the debilitating flashbacks or the tormenting nightmares that plagued him. Over the course of nine months, he had more than 120 counseling sessions with one of the nation's top trauma specialists, who diagnosed him as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Victor's story shows how a person can get true freedom from negative behaviors caused by bad circumstances.