About Sealed To My Abductor
A Tether to the Truth
My earliest memory is a flash of warmth and sound. I am two years old, sitting on Sammy Davis Jr.’s lap in his Hollywood home as he serenades me with "The Candy Man". It’s a moment of pure, uncomplicated magic, a sweet lullaby from a world that would soon be ripped away. That memory, and the man who created it, would become a secret lifeline, a thread of truth I would cling to in the dark years to come.
Days after that sun-drenched memory, my world shattered. I was taken from my father in an act of abduction disguised as salvation. My mother, a woman who had been absent for years, reappeared to take me, not as a daughter, but as a possession—an object to be controlled, reshaped, and sealed into a new identity. The price of defiance was a childhood marked by beatings, strangulation, and the psychological warfare of a cult-like doctrine that demanded absolute obedience.
To survive, I learned to live a double life. Every time Sammy Davis Jr. appeared on television, I escaped. In the flicker of the screen, I was once again the child in Hollywood, held safely in my father’s world. Sammy was my secret tether to a truth I was forbidden to speak. I clung to that memory, even as I was forced to call a stranger “Daddy,” even as my reality twisted into something unrecognizable.
This book is the story of that survival. It is an unflinching look at a childhood stolen by parental abduction, manipulated by the weaponization of the Mormon faith, and nearly destroyed by years of violence and psychological abuse.
Forty-four years after I was taken, a single phone call changed everything. On the other end of the line was the father I had lost. The emotions crashed in—a tidal wave of grief, hope, and disbelief. How could we be sure, after a lifetime apart?
I took a breath and asked the only question that mattered:
"What celebrity did we spend time with when I was little?"
The voice on the other end didn’t hesitate.
“Do you mean Sammy?”
In that moment, doubt vanished. DNA was unnecessary. Sammy Davis Jr. had returned, not in song, but in proof. He was there at the beginning, and now, decades later, his memory sealed the final, undeniable truth.
Sealed to My Abductor is a memoir of resilience and reclamation. It is a story of a stolen childhood, of faith twisted into a weapon, and of the unbreakable strength it takes to unseal the truth and reclaim a name. Because no child should have to find salvation in a memory. And no child should have to wait forty-four years to come home.
Days after that sun-drenched memory, my world shattered. I was taken from my father in an act of abduction disguised as salvation. My mother, a woman who had been absent for years, reappeared to take me, not as a daughter, but as a possession—an object to be controlled, reshaped, and sealed into a new identity. The price of defiance was a childhood marked by beatings, strangulation, and the psychological warfare of a cult-like doctrine that demanded absolute obedience.
To survive, I learned to live a double life. Every time Sammy Davis Jr. appeared on television, I escaped. In the flicker of the screen, I was once again the child in Hollywood, held safely in my father’s world. Sammy was my secret tether to a truth I was forbidden to speak. I clung to that memory, even as I was forced to call a stranger “Daddy,” even as my reality twisted into something unrecognizable.
This book is the story of that survival. It is an unflinching look at a childhood stolen by parental abduction, manipulated by the weaponization of the Mormon faith, and nearly destroyed by years of violence and psychological abuse.
Forty-four years after I was taken, a single phone call changed everything. On the other end of the line was the father I had lost. The emotions crashed in—a tidal wave of grief, hope, and disbelief. How could we be sure, after a lifetime apart?
I took a breath and asked the only question that mattered:
"What celebrity did we spend time with when I was little?"
The voice on the other end didn’t hesitate.
“Do you mean Sammy?”
In that moment, doubt vanished. DNA was unnecessary. Sammy Davis Jr. had returned, not in song, but in proof. He was there at the beginning, and now, decades later, his memory sealed the final, undeniable truth.
Sealed to My Abductor is a memoir of resilience and reclamation. It is a story of a stolen childhood, of faith twisted into a weapon, and of the unbreakable strength it takes to unseal the truth and reclaim a name. Because no child should have to find salvation in a memory. And no child should have to wait forty-four years to come home.
The Anatomy of a Crime: By the Numbers
1Years
SEPARATED from a Loving Father
1Years
BRUTAL VIOLENCE at the hands of a step "family member"
1
ILLEGAL ADOPTION built on lies and a falsified affidavit.
1
1 WOMAN determined to
unseal the truth.
About The Memoir
Exploring Trauma through Innovative Storytelling
Sealed To My Abductor offers a profound insight into the harrowing tale of author Dawn McCarty's 1973 abduction by her mother, the devastating impact of child psychological abuse, related to parental alienation and abduction (CPA-PA) from her father.
This memoir serves as a powerful testimony revealing how a fraudulent adoption was manipulated to orchestrate her baptism and ultimate 'sealing' within the Mormon Church, weaponizing faith to intensify her trauma. McCarty delves deep into the intricacies of what she defines as a "cult of two," shedding light on Stockholm syndrome and psychological factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA).
This memoir serves as a powerful testimony revealing how a fraudulent adoption was manipulated to orchestrate her baptism and ultimate 'sealing' within the Mormon Church, weaponizing faith to intensify her trauma. McCarty delves deep into the intricacies of what she defines as a "cult of two," shedding light on Stockholm syndrome and psychological factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA).
Turning Pain into Awareness
Sealed to My Abductor opens with the chilling 1977 Mormon temple ceremony where author Dawn McCarty was spiritually "sealed" to her abductor, before plunging the reader back to the 1973 parental abduction that made the ritual possible. This weaponization of the Mormon religion (The Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints, (LDS)) intensified the trauma, creating what McCarty defines as a "cult of two".
The memoir serves as a powerful testimony, delving into the intricacies of child psychological abuse (CPA-PA), Stockholm syndrome, and psychological factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA). It is a forensic examination of a childhood marked by violence and psychological warfare, where a child is forced to live a double life, concealing her past and true identity. This experience of identity erasure and isolation is a common characteristic of family abduction, a crime that has devastating and long-term effects on its victims.
After forty-four years of separation, a single phone call with the father she had lost changed everything. The narrative culminates in a stunning moment of validation, where the memory of a Hollywood legend, Sammy Davis Jr.—who served as a secret tether to her forbidden past—returns to seal the undeniable truth of her identity.
More than a memoir, Sealed to My Abductor is a record of truth and a roadmap for survivors. It is a rallying cry for anyone who has been told to be grateful for their chains and a vital resource for advocates working to dismantle the systems that enable abuse.
The memoir serves as a powerful testimony, delving into the intricacies of child psychological abuse (CPA-PA), Stockholm syndrome, and psychological factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA). It is a forensic examination of a childhood marked by violence and psychological warfare, where a child is forced to live a double life, concealing her past and true identity. This experience of identity erasure and isolation is a common characteristic of family abduction, a crime that has devastating and long-term effects on its victims.
After forty-four years of separation, a single phone call with the father she had lost changed everything. The narrative culminates in a stunning moment of validation, where the memory of a Hollywood legend, Sammy Davis Jr.—who served as a secret tether to her forbidden past—returns to seal the undeniable truth of her identity.
More than a memoir, Sealed to My Abductor is a record of truth and a roadmap for survivors. It is a rallying cry for anyone who has been told to be grateful for their chains and a vital resource for advocates working to dismantle the systems that enable abuse.