Our Story

About Living Powerfully After Violence or Abuse

Living Powerfully After Violence or Abuse was started as a passion project for its founder, Valerie Peterson. Valerie is an attorney and CEO of Atticus, Inc., a company dedicated to help lawyers have a great practice and a great life. For over 35 years Valerie hid the fact that she was a survivor of domestic violence. She hid the shame she felt while believing she was “damaged goods. ” Even though she survived the violence and had a successful professional life, she wasn’t living an empowered life. The past still had a firm hold on her sense of self worth. Now free from the shackles of the past, Valerie is committed to helping other survivors step into a new chapter – one where they are in firm control of their life and their future. And while it’s not easy or simple, having a community that supports one other on this journey of leaving the past in the past is critical to stepping into a new future of empowered living.

Through in person social events and online support, Living Powerfully After Violence or Abuse is dedicated to helping every survivor move from a life of shame, guilt or low self- confidence into a life of endless possibilities for the future, in other words, living an empowered and fulfilling life.