I recently received a wonderful email from a reader who got a VCH piercing for her 18th birthday. She explains that it was instrumental in reclaiming her body after abuse. Read her touching story about how a piercing was so positive and empowering:

Hello Elayne,
I got my VCH piercing for my 18th birthday and it's really a thanks to you, this blog, the Piercing Bible and others who have the VCH piercing and shared their experiences.

I was sexually abused for five years when i was a kid so my body never did feel like it was completely mine until my birthday (the 17th). I feel so liberated, new, fresh and like i finally have a choice with my body-- i never knew a piercing could make someone feel this way or could help me out much more than any therapist could. Whenever i have flashbacks, or memories of the abuse, i can just smile it off now because my body finally feels like it's MINE and no one will ever be able to take it away and abuse it again.

Body modification has helped me out so much these past two years with finding myself again and gaining a strong sense of self and i feel like i owe a big thank you to you. You've enlightened me a lot on piercing (I want to be a piercer one day in the future) and have helped me realize how liberating and renewing a piercing can be-- thank you so much for being there for everyone, for writing the Piercing Bible and for being so passionate about body modification (you're a true inspiration)!