Laura and Me

Very few sexual abuse survivors are given the opportunity to ask the question they most want answered. Why did this happen to me? Sylvia Peterson was offered that chance and courageously took it. She met twice a month with Laura Faye McCollum, the only woman held in Washington State as a violent, serial, sexual predator. Laura’s crimes were horrific. She was an accomplished liar and a skilled manipulator, but Sylvia was determined. Laura and Me isn’t just a journey into the darkness of childhood sexual abuse. It’s also a voyage into forgiveness, healing, and joy.


“Sylvia Peterson’s book was instrumental in shattering my chains of self-hatred born of childhood abuse. Balancing horror, history, and humor, she entrusts the reader with every nuance of her heart and mind. You will rage, laugh, and cry as you experience Sylvia’s quest for truth. I will no longer hold an impotent finger in the dike of my perpetrator’s sins. Laura and Me is a satisfying must-read for anyone who wants to know why adults prey on children.” Kathleen McDaniels, M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education


“You may be afraid to read this like I was, but it will help you with the struggle from what someone did to you or to someone you care about. People can heal from being sexually abused. I know. I was one of Laura McCollum’s victims. Let this story change you.” (Name deleted for privacy.)


For over two decades, Sylvia has ministered to the incarcerated, including sex offenders. She and her husband write and present offender reentry programs for the Washington State Department of Corrections. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology and a Master of Divinity from Covenant Bible Seminary in Lakewood, WA. The Petersons are also chaplains for the Foursquare Church. They live in Steilacoom, WA.