Who is Jessica Willis Fisher? Ex-TLC star's memoir 'Unspeakable' recounts sexual abuse by dad Toby Willis
If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: The singer and songwriter Jessica Willis Fisher unsettled the internet by releasing her memoir and solo album, featuring the mental, physical and sexual abuse she had to face in the household run by her strict father, Toby Willis. The memoir 'Unspeakable: Surviving My Childhood and Finding My Voice' starts with a trigger warning for all those who are dealing with "unprocessed trauma." Willis Fisher penned down every detail, feeling, and discomfort she faced while going through the "sexual abuse."
TLC fans are well aware of Willis Fisher's name from 'The Willis Family'. Moreover, the Willis clan also bagged fame from 'America's Got Talent'. However, what TLC's reality show missed to showcase was the pain and abuse Willis Fisher and her siblings suffered in a close-knitted family of 14 members. The father of 12, Toby Willis, was arrested in 2016 and pled guilty to four counts of child rape. The accused was sentenced to 40 years in jail. Willis Fisher's memoir 'Unspeakable' and album 'Brand New Day' once again sparked people's interest in knowing more about the once-reality star.
RELATED ARTICLES
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discloses how sexual abuse in her early 20s drove her to run for office
Sick abuser gets 30 years after niece, stepdaughter share horrific details of childhood abuse
Who is Jessica Willis Fisher?
Willis Fisher is a performing artist who was the main singer in her family band. Not just singing, she also has a keen interest in dancing. Born in 1992, she was the eldest child. Willis Fisher is also called by her nickname Jess. The 30-year-old got married to Sean Fisher in 2017. Willis Fisher recently uploaded a photo of her and her husband, captioning, "Thankful every day of the year with this one If I get 50 more Novembers with you, I’ll be the luckiest. Love you." Willis Fisher and Fisher do not have any kids as of now.
The star who featured in TLC's short-lived show 'The Willis Family' was abused starting at the age of three. Saving Country Music reported, Willis Fisher was not only abused but also beaten with a belt by her father. However, four months before the arrest of Toby, Willis Fisher flew away from her home. Her 'Fire Song' addressed the pain and difficulty she had to face while moving away from her home. "Right before I left, I was having these nightmares that the house was on fire and I was the only one who could tell, and everybody else was going about their normal lives," Willis Fisher revealed. Well, her recently released album Brand New Day's 'My History' caught most of the attention as it talked about the abuse and the pain that came along with it.
'It was night after night, over years,' Willis Fisher explained how her father Toby Willis sexually abused her
The cover page of Willis Fisher's memoir 'Unspeakable' features her standing in the middle of nowhere wearing a hat and looking in a different direction. In the first chapter 'Early Childhood', she talks about the details of her life she remembered as a kid. "My father is there, leaning over me, touching a part of my body I don't have a name for with his large warm hand, talking about things I do not understand," Willis Fisher explains in her memoir. She further explained how she was "just three or four" and was unable to understand or find words to explain what was happening to her.
In Chapter 27, named 'For the record', Willis Fisher explains her reporting 'sexual assaults' to the police. After leaving her family home, she explained to the investigators that she had been living with her cousin and will soon be moving to her boyfriend's house. Willis Fisher explained that she last lived with her family in a rental house. "I explained we'd lived in a succession of rentals after our house burned down in 2004," she wrote. After preliminary questions, Willis Fisher started giving out detailed information about the sexual abuse. She said, "with his fingers, he would touch me there." Officer Holt asked, "Over your clothes or under?" To this, she replied, "both."
Willis Fisher detailed in her memoir that these sexual assault incidents didn't happen 5 or 10 times but like a hundred times. "It was night after night, over years," she wrote. Her first memory of her father "sexually abusing" her was when she was four years old. He might have done it before that but she didn't remember any incident before that.
Willis Fisher's song 'My History', features photos of her when she was a kid. Moreover, the song lines say, "I am my survivor and you will be my history." The chorus says, "All my story now belongs to me. I will try to build a better life for me." The video shows her playing the guitar while singing the song and photos of her childhood are flashed in the clip from time to time. As of now, Willis Fisher is promoting her memoir, doing interviews, singing, and traveling all around. She said to Forbes, "I’m in an interesting place because I feel confident doing scary, risky, big things like putting out this book."