SOUTHERN WRITERS MARCH/APRIL 2019 Southern Writers_MAR-APR_2019_ | Page 9

Sharon Muse Fighting Back By Tracy Crump A s her abductor’s knife pressed into her throat, lawyer Sharon Muse thought of her parents. They would  never know what happened to her. Minutes earlier, a former client had wormed his way into her car and forced her to drive to a desolate spot. There, he obviously planned to rape and kill her and dispose of her body in the woods. She fought him but couldn’t escape the 220-pound fanatic bent on her destruction. Just when she saw no way out, God supernaturally intervened to rescue her. Then began the second greatest battle of her life— fighting the justice system for seven years to have her would-be murderer locked away for good. The day he was arrested, he threatened to come back and kill her. His words haunted Sharon. She took self-defense classes, slept with a gun by her bed, and lived in terror that he would make bail. Finally, she’d had enough. She would kill this monster before he killed her. Sharon began plotting a murder, but once again God intervened—this time by allowing her to forgive. Sharon chronicles her harrowing experiences in Kidnapped by a Client: An Attorney’s Fight for Justice at Any Cost (Skyhorse Publishing), which is available for preorder on Amazon. “It’s not a self-help book,” she says, though it outlines plenty of self-protection tactics and offers valuable advice and resources for victims. Instead, readers will journey with a woman whose story could conceivably become their own. “Kidnapped by a Client pulls back the curtain on a true crime event and the criminal justice system so readers can experience the roller coaster ride with me,” Sharon says. “More than just an interesting story, it’s a story that may save lives.” But the book is only one stepping-stone on the path God has laid out for Sharon to help those who might find themselves in a similar situation. Her website, www. OwnYourMoment.org, contains a wealth of information to prevent other women from becoming victims. On one page, Sharon speaks candidly about how she “Missed 14 Clues in 62 Seconds” that led to her abduction. She notes that she was raised with Christian values and Southern hospitality which made it harder for her to identify the threat she faced and do whatever it took to get herself out of harm’s way. One talk- show host called her a “nonstop activist” in teaching people to live confident lives and avoid becoming targets. Sharon also cut back her law practice to focus on helping victims navigate the criminal justice system. Despite her legal background, she became a voiceless victim of the court Southern Writers    9