By Karin Beery
(article author)
Enthusiastic for life and passionate for God, Dawn Scott Damon’s ministry emerged from a traumatic childhood that led to an unexpected midlife shaking.
Despite life’s uncertainty and hardships, she determined to thrive instead of merely survive her circumstances. That has led her down a path of grit, glitter, and bravery.
The Price of Silence
The youngest of three daughters, Dawn grew up with parents who did their best to live a good life, but like many families, they struggled.
“Behind closed doors and smiles, behind the singing and the Bible studies, my dad became an alcoholic and an abuser,” she said. Because of the abuse, Dawn said she grew up in a fog. “I don’t know how old I was when the abuse began, but I can look at pictures of myself and say, ‘that little girl is innocent’ and look at others and say, ‘that girl is being abused.’”
Breaking the Cycle
The abuse lasted for many years, but Dawn never told anyone because she didn’t want to be the reason her family broke up or her dad went to jail.
She decided to silently suffer until she could get away from the abuse, but she quickly realized that wasn’t a solution. “I got out of the house, got married, and realized abuse is not over even when it’s over. That’s when I discovered the aftermath of abuse.”
Anxiety, panic attacks, and anger became normal in her life, but one day she decided she didn’t want to be a victim who merely survived her abuse—she wanted to thrive. “I wanted to overcome and flourish,” Dawn said. “I didn’t give in to victimhood that so many abuse survivors do to survive, and I don’t blame anyone who does.”
The God Who Heals
Because she grew up in a home that tried to follow Scripture, Dawn was introduced to Jesus at a young age, but her trauma kept her from having a relationship with Him.
When her troubled marriage reached its breaking point, however, she and her husband fell to their knees in brokenness. They found a church together, and Dawn experienced a faith she’d never known. “I got saved to the bone. When that happened, I started chasing my healing with everything in me.”
Fighting with Sparkle
Dawn read every book and listened to every cassette she could find.
She chased after mentors. And she jumped into serving at her new church. She got involved with music ministry, joined the worship team, and was eventually asked to teach a Bible study. God kept opening doors, eventually opening one that would set the course for her future—a door to full-time ministry.
Finding Strength in Losing Battles
For many years she did, but then, after 28 years of marriage, things imploded.
Her husband left, she lost her job, and her kids, now older, moved out. Once again, panic and anxiety rushed in. Alone in her home with no support system and unsure what to do, Dawn once again cried out to the Lord. As a mother and wife, Dawn had lost her sense of identity in the “we” of her family, and she had to figure out her “me.” “I had to find out what my grit was— was it bravado, a mask, a cover up for an insecure girl?” She needed to relearn how to be strong on her own.
Seeing Dawn
Dawn spent five hard years letting God show her who she really was.
“I had to become confident in who I was, to find out that my self-esteem was built not on who I was or what my titles were, but on who God created me to be.” It wasn’t an easy season. Dawn asked God for bravery to face her singleness, and He gave her so much more.
As part of the healing process from her divorce, she wrote The Making of a BraveHearted Woman: Courage, Confidence, and Vision in Midlife to encourage and support women with a need for strength and boldness in their lives.
You Gotta Keep Going, Girl!
Whether she’s speaking to women in person, over the airwaves, or through her book, Dawn’s message remains the same. “Keep going. Keep believing. You’re never too old to set a new goal, dream a new dream, or sing a new song.”
Dawn Damon is a global communicator, BraveHeart mentor, best-selling author, and founder of BraveHearted University, empowering women to thrive. She lives in Rockford, MI with Paul. They have 5 kids, 13 grandkids, and two great-grands.
