Carmen Tarleton Shares Her Story Of Domestic Violence With ESPN E:60
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Years after a horrible attack that left her severely disfigured, Carmen Tarleton is doing better than ever. ESPN's E:60 profiled Tarleton giving her a chance to tell her story to the world and her messages against domestic abuse.
With the sports world's continuous coverage of the Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's domestic abuse scandal, which was made public and made the blunt of a joke for other outlets, Tarleton details her story which buries domestic abuse jokes.
Tarleton worked as a nurse in Lebanon, New Hampshire where she met the man who would turn out to be the one altered her life for the worst.
In June 2007 just five months after she separated from Herbert Rodgers, Tarleton's estranged husband, unleashed a brutal attack on her without warning leaving her severely disfigured.
"Herb broke into Carmen's home, beat her with a baseball bat, and soaked her with industrial strength lye," according to her website for the Overcome Book.
"Carmen burned from the inside out. Her injuries were so severe that, hours later, only her hands and teeth were recognizable to family."
60 surgeries later Tarleton serves as an advocate against domestic violence and according to her Overcomebook.com, "she realized her purpose: to counter the negativity Herb put in the world with her own positivity.
Carmen recognized that by sharing her story, she could help people on an even broader scale than she had as a nurse.
She could help them see that, no matter their situation, no matter what suffering they have endured, their reservoirs of strength are endless."
"She now speaks to audiences around the world in hopes of helping other victims of domestic violence.
She shares her story with E:60's Jeremy Schaap and explains how she was able to ultimately find a new purpose and joy," says ESPNMediaZone.com.
Tarleton is a very big New England Patriots fan according to ESPN and she wanted the world to know her story. According to Overcomebook.com, "Carmen began speaking in public in February 2011.
Since then, she has spoken at fundraisers, domestic violence groups, classrooms, rotary clubs, and the Vermont State Prison, where she addressed an audience of convicted sexual offenders.
Tarleton details her story in her book "Overcome."