By Susan Brownmiller
This chilling book takes you back through the history of rape as crime. Can help you to make sense of your experiences, and the experiences of so many others.
By Nancy Venable Raine
The book eloquently relates the story of Nancy's terrifying rape, and how she has coped with it as the years pass. A very moving read. I highly recommend it.
Edited by Lynn
This is a lovely anthology of survivor creativity edited by Lynn with the intent to benefit RAINN. Pick it up!
By Nealus
This book is Nealus'compelling story. A survivor of abuse by multiple perpetrators, Nealus wrote down his story while spending a year and a half in prison for attempting to kill his most recent perpetrator. Graphic, but recommended for male survivors.
By Joyce Meyer
Evangelist Joyce Meyer knows what she talks about in this book; she is an incest survivor. She weaves much personal experience, and shares from a compassion from one who has been there. The basic moral of this book is draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. The only issue I had with the book is I didn't quite know how I felt as Joyce discusses how she forgave her abusive father, but I feel this is an issue with my own healing that I must work through rather than any wrong idea of Joyce's.
By Lynn C. Tolson
"Lynn C. Tolson's story is one of courage and survival. Despite her initial suicide attempt, she perseveres, using counseling, introspection, and reflection. These things are not easy tasks for someone who has been physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by those who were supposed to protect her. Tolson doesn't sugar coat her abuse or her voyage through recovery, but even though the realities of overcoming abuse are difficult, she proves, in the end, it was/is worth it." - Reviewer at Tolson's site
By Coral Anika Theill
This book is a shocking look into how the justice system failed Coral, who is a domestic violence and partner rape survivor. Included is tons of documentation on how she was abused for two decades, and how the justice system continued the victimization long after Coral left her husband. A must read.
By John & Stasi Eldredge
This book explores the reasons why women experience wounded femininity, and how to remedy that. Abuse is covered extensively here, and Stasi tells the story of her college rape. I really got a lot out of the book, and recommend it highly.
By Andrea Smith
The book analyzes the colonial roots of sexual violence against Native Americans and expands our understanding to include the rape of the land, and the myraid other ways the American Indian has been violated. Highly recommended.
By Ellen Bass and Laura Davis
This book has been accused of being iffy therapy, but I believe it can be trusted, provided caution is used, and you work carefully through each memory that surfaces. It includes many powerful writing exercises to stimulate growth and bring perspective.
By Laura Davis
This workbook requires careful, slow work. There is so much ground covered. I have not done that much in the book I admit, because early on in the book, I began to experience an age regression, and it scared me. Don't let that scare you off from trying this workbook, however. Many survivors swear by it.
By Amy Norman
"My goals for writing Dancing with the Devil were to give those living with violence the chance to realise that there is hope, and the opportunity to move onto a better life, even though at the time there seems little or no hope at all. I also wanted to reach those who don't understand it at all and hopefully wipe out some of the myths that still exist in the minds of so many." - Amy Norman
By Gavin De Becker
Wow. This book will really make you think about the violent or potentially violent situations you've been in. It will teach you to recognize what has gone wrong in your previous situations, and what to watch out for in the future.
By Pastor Todd R. Cook
This book is not false advertising. It deals chiefly with the survivor's situation in the present and takes you to the Word and presents you with both solutions and compassion. Pastor Cook has worked as a crisis counselor, so he also brings his counseling knowledge to the table.
By Maya Angelou
This book details the challenges of Maya's early life. These challenges include her rape at 8 years old, the subsequent trial, and the murder of her rapist. Maya stopped speaking and withdrew into herself until a teacher brought life out of her at 12 years old. Thank God she did, for this book is a treasure, and a must read for any child sexual abuse survivor.
By Dr. Patti Feuereisen
This an amazing book. It's perfect for young teenage girls to get help through this, but it's also great for young women looking to make sense of their experiences. It helped me to think about many aspects of what happened to me that I hadn't dealt with before and it clarified many things for me.
By Phyllis Benton
Phyllis' story is raw, and what she suffered is terrible, but while she writes about how she struggles, she also writes about how she stays afloat, and eventually found happiness. If you want to read a survivor biography, this is a good one.
By Kay Arthur
I highly recommend this precept Bible study book. It was instrumental in the healing of a survivor friend of mine, and I have found it helpful as well. It helps you to understand where God was when your abuse occurred, and what He wants to do about it for you.
By Julie Roberts
Out Out of Every Four is both a guidebook with plenty of advice, and also tells the story of Julie Roberts, a date rape survivor. The book will be helpful to anyone, but it will especially helpful for survivors of the Mormon faith. Julie is a very brave woman, and her struggles with her faith, her sense of self, and anorexia among many other things will be easily relatable, and her healing, reconciliation with God, and healing of wounded relationships with men, is something we all can hope for.
By Ricky Hunter
"Point Last Seen is an intensely personal work. This is a true story of one woman's odyssey/journey through three complex issues of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence and mental illness.
All too often we hear or read horrific stories of children being abducted by pedophiles and shudder at the thought of what these innocent victims must have experienced. Rarely, if ever, do we hear how the terrifying experiences affect these victims as they journey through their lives. Ricky Hunter tells her story of being abducted at age five and how this terrifying ordeal shaped her life from childhood through to early womanhood and beyond." - Wings of Fire (survivor site)
By Mary Pipher, PhD.
Very good book from 1994 dealing with the loss of self young girls face as they go through adolescence. The book tackles at length the subject of the 1 in 3 girls who are sexually abused or assaulted before their 18th birthday, and introduces us to some young survivors. I first read this book in '95 at the age of 14, but the topics on eating disorders and sexual abuse went over my head, despite the fact I was one of those young girls they were discussing. However this book may help you to make sense of your teenage experiences if you are older.
By Erin Merryn
"Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. As the abuse continued, and as she was forced to see her abuser over and over again in social situations, she struggled with self-doubt, panic attacks, nightmares and the weight of whether or not to tell her terrible secret. It wasn't until a traumatic series of events showed her the cost of silence that she chose to speak out-in the process destroying both her family and the last of her innocence.
Through her personal diary, written during the years of her abuse, Erin Myrren shares her journey through pain and confusion to inner strength and, ultimately, forgiveness. Raw, powerful and unflinchingly honest, Stolen Innocence is the inspiring story of one girl's struggle to become a woman, and a bright light on the pain and devastation of abuse." - Susan Reedquist, The Children's Advocacy Center
Also, you can watch a short clip of Erin being interviewed about her story & book on Good Morning America here.
By Mike Lew:
This is a comprehensive and compassionate guide for male survivors of child sexual abuse. Similar to The Courage to Heal, it presents you with the effects of one's abuse in all areas of life so that you can recognize your aftermath, it includes focuses on special issues (such as men who were abused by female perps), and male survivors from all walks of life share their story with you. Highly recommended.
By Sereena Nightshade
"The Visage is a medley style volume of poetry and essays depicting various experiences, thoughts, vividly raw emotions and inspirations within this author's life. This book additionally describes the emotional content and riveting expressively unedited impact of being terrorized by a stalker on both a primary stalking victim and the co-victims. In the realm of emotional and general personal impact, very little, if anything, is left out. The losses suffered due to the stalking are blatantly expressed within many works. If you want to know or understand what it's honestly like to be stalked by an obsessively crazed and violent perpetrator this book is a good start to gaining some insight into this reality." -- Amazon.co.uk
By John Eldredge
"In Wild At Heart John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God. And he invites women to discover the secret of a man's soul and to delight in the strength and wildness men were created to offer."
The book discusses the father wound, which is often caused by abuse. I know of men who swear by it!
