Four Pounds of Pressure

Every one of us fears the things that go bump in the night. We're told tales of happenings when evil is conjured or footsteps are heard while alone in a dark house. But those are just stories, right? What would we do if those fears became an intense reality we could not escape? On the night of November 17, 2018, Danielle Leukam went to bed as a newly single mother and nurse from Minnesota. On the morning of November 18, 2018, she awoke to a sinister world that would never be the same for her again. A home invasion gone awry, Danielle was held at gunpoint and raped repeatedly for five hours while her three-year-old son slept in the next room. Mentally tortured and traumatized, Danielle recounts the events of the attack with raw transparency as the agonizing truth of her experiences unfold. But she is a survivor. Now, Danielle is armed with the weapon of her voice as she turns tragedy to triumph by seeking to break the silence for victims of rape and sexual assault. It would've taken four pounds of pressure for Danielle's attacker to pull the trigger on the 9mm handgun held to her head that night, but what about the pressures in the aftermath of survival? Danielle is taking her power back by releasing the weight of suppression about what it's like to rebuild after a violation so severe. But she is proof there is hope. Through the ups-and-downs of her compelling story, Danielle is advocating for systematic change and a world of compassion for survivors like her.