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A Life Changed Forever: The Sexual Assault Attack That Altered Everything
On a sweltering summer afternoon in rural France, a moment of ordinary freedom became a catalyst for extraordinary trauma. What began as a morning walk transformed into a sexual assault attack that would challenge the very foundations of one couple's relationship. Yet their story is not merely one of survival—it is a testament to resilience, commitment, and the possibility of healing after the unimaginable. Through their journey navigating life after this devastating sexual assault attack, Susan Brison and Thomas Trezise discovered that while trauma cannot be erased, it can be transformed into a pathway for profound personal and relational growth.
The Context: A Summer of Promise
The summer of 1990 represented a turning point in both academic and personal terms for Thomas Trezise and Susan Brison. Both were assistant professors at prestigious American universities—Trezise teaching French at Princeton, while Brison held a philosophy position at Dartmouth. They had recently arrived at a secluded farmhouse belonging to one of Trezise's French colleagues, anticipating a season filled with intellectual pursuit, romantic connection, and the possibility of starting a family. "I'd found someone with whom I really wanted to spend my life and I just felt very, very lucky," Trezise recalls. "Susan and I had fallen quickly and deeply in love—it was magical—and at that point, we were also trying to conceive a child."
The early days at the French residence felt idyllic. The couple enjoyed the isolation, the peaceful countryside, and what seemed like boundless potential for their future together. "We loved being in France. I kind of felt I'd found my way. It was a good place," Trezise remembered, before adding quietly, "until it happened."
When Normalcy Shatters: The Moment Everything Changed
On July 4th, 1990, at a junction of dirt roads surrounded by endless horizons, Thomas stood waiting. Susan had departed for a morning walk two hours earlier—a routine that should have taken far less time. As the minutes accumulated into worry, Trezise felt a deep foreboding settle into his chest. This was not simply concern about a delayed return; it was something more primal, a sense that something profoundly wrong had occurred. The landscape that had seemed so beautiful and peaceful now felt isolating and ominous. When Susan finally returned, she bore the physical and psychological marks of what would later be documented as a sexual assault attack by a stranger who had left her for dead.
The Aftermath: Supporting a Partner Through Trauma
The sexual assault attack left Susan Brison struggling not only with severe physical injuries but also with the psychological wounds that accompany such violence. Thomas faced an unprecedented challenge: how to support his partner through unimaginable trauma while processing his own devastation and rage. The statistics on relationships following sexual assault are sobering—many partnerships dissolve under the weight of such trauma. Yet this couple chose a different path.
Thomas became an advocate, researcher, and witness to his wife's healing process. Rather than retreating or allowing the attack to define their relationship's trajectory, he engaged directly with the complexity of supporting someone recovering from a sexual assault attack. He learned that survivor recovery requires patience, understanding, and a willingness to sit with discomfort. The couple also made the unconventional decision that Thomas would write about their experience, transforming their private agony into public testimony.
Writing Through Trauma: A Shared Path to Healing
One of the most distinctive elements of Brison and Trezise's recovery was Susan's desire for Thomas to document their journey. This collaborative approach to healing through narrative reflects a deeper understanding: that trauma need not be endured in isolation, and that meaning can be extracted from suffering through the act of bearing witness and telling truthful stories. By encouraging Thomas to write about the sexual assault attack and its aftermath, Susan participated in a reclamation of narrative control—refusing to allow the assault to remain a silenced secret that festers in darkness.
Their decision to make their experience public also reflects a commitment to helping others. Many couples and survivors lack models for how to navigate life after sexual assault attack, leaving them to stumble through recovery without guidance or perspective. By sharing their story, Brison and Trezise offer others a framework for understanding that relationships can survive and even deepen through trauma, though never without effort and emotional courage.
Key Insights: What This Couple Got Right—And Struggles Along the Way
Through their journey, several patterns emerged about what facilitates healing after a sexual assault attack. Thomas's willingness to listen without judgment, his commitment to the relationship despite the trauma, and his engagement with understanding the psychological dimensions of assault recovery all contributed to their survival as a couple. He did not minimize Susan's experience, did not demand that she "move on" prematurely, and did not make her trauma about his own pain—though he certainly experienced his own trauma as a partner and witness.
Yet their path was not without challenges or mistakes. There were moments of miscommunication, instances where well-intentioned support fell short, and periods where the weight of trauma threatened to overwhelm their connection. Thomas's writings about their experience candidly address these difficulties, refusing to present their recovery as linear or simple. This honesty—about both victories and ongoing struggles—distinguishes their testimony from narratives that imply trauma can be "overcome" quickly or completely.
Moving Forward: Building Lives Beyond Assault
Years after the sexual assault attack that nearly ended Susan's life, this couple remains together, their relationship transformed but intact. They did not let the rapist destroy their lives, as Susan herself has stated. Instead, they channeled their suffering into understanding, advocacy, and a deepened commitment to one another. Their story serves as a counternarrative to the common dissolution of relationships following sexual violence, demonstrating that with commitment, communication, and genuine support, healing is possible.
The legacy of their experience extends beyond their personal recovery. Through Thomas's writing and both of their advocacy work, they have contributed to broader conversations about sexual assault recovery, trauma's impact on relationships, and the possibilities for rebuilding after devastation. Their journey reminds us that survivorship is not merely individual but relational, and that sometimes the most powerful response to violence is the simple, revolutionary act of choosing to stay together and rebuild.
