As a small boy Matt Carey loved to ride his bike, play football with friends and to laugh. He loved life and was always smiling. When he was just eight years old, he was targeted by a group of predatory paedophiles who subjected him to 18-months of horrific sexual abuse. He was too ashamed and scared to tell anyone what had happened...not his parents, friends or family. In his new book, A Small Boy Smiling, Matt tells a remarkable story of survival and overcoming the trauma, guilt and shame of childhood sexual abuse, teenage alcoholism, sexual anorexia, and post traumatic stress disorder. His lifelong search for peace, love and healing culminates in personal spiritual awakening and a desire to help other survivors of sexual abuse to discover their own healing. Matt’s search for healing inspired him to explore a variety of healing pathways which included conventional trauma therapies for PTSD in the UK; to Spain where he enjoyed an exhilarating month long pilgrimage along the 500-mile Camino to Santiago de Compostela; to Brazil where he experienced profound healing on a meditation retreat; and on numerous visits to India where he has studied spiritual philosophy, meditated in ashrams, and trekked the Himalayas. However he credits the initial catalyst for his healing to be Alcoholics Anonymous. Matt went to his first AA meeting at age 20 and has now been sober for over 25 years. Matt says, “I wrote this book for me, for my healing. Now the book is finished, my sincere hope is that other survivors of trauma and addiction will be encouraged to find the help that they deserve, and that they, too, might feel peace.” The book also includes a chapter written by Matt’s trauma therapist Sarah Paton Briggs, called Soulful Space: Reflections On My Therapy Work With Matt. Matt invited Sarah to pull back the curtain of client/therapist confidentiality and write a chapter about his therapy sessions with her from the therapist’s perspective. The chapter offers a professional perspective to his journey of healing, therapy options, and practical advice for survivors of sexual abuse who may be considering professional therapy.