Abuse Books

The book shows an amazign amount of knowledge and background concerning the subjects in the book. The Author does a great job of not only educating the reader on the findings of 30 years of research but teaches the reader what he has done. The use of non-participant observation in the book is flawless. I thought i learned a ton from the book till i read it again and learned so much more.

By far the most thorough and comprehensive text on the teen drug subculture. It's the only text I have seen that follows the subjects for an extended time period- in this case 30+ years. The depth of inside information on the subculture is second to none. You won't be disappointed.

Fr. Lowney has years of sociological real life experience all recorded in this book. I was shocked from the statistics of drug use/abuse, it certainly brought me out of "The Cave". Kudos for telling it how it is...

This book is thorough--covers 31 years of research, but presents a very human understanding of my generation. It combines the story of the young people with the author's own life journey (he even enters the priesthood during the course of his research). Brings back some great (and not so great--now that I think about them) memories!

Due to the nature of the diseases, FSH, Cogenial, Limb-Girdle, and Mysenthia Gravis, all of the Muscular Dystrophy family, the medical profession failed to recognize the symptons of these debilitating diseases and diagnosed this condition as depression which resulted in being in several state mental hospitals for years and given powerful anti-psychotic drugs causing hallucinations which reflected to a beautiful childhood. However, with the quick response of a didicated team of drs. from California the correct diagnosis of MD was discovered and treatment was given and the book tells of a beautiful love story as its ending. Not always the easiest read because of such a trauma but it shows the reader the awful consequences resulting from a physical illness such as muscular dystrophy mistaken by outstanding doctors for a mental illness.

I have just finished reading this book and am anxious to see it go to the top of every reading list and a movie, too. It is such a captivating read and also such a revealing study of personal experience in a mysterious world of the mind out of control because of mind altering drugs even if they are being prescribed by doctors. It was so very incouraging to see there is hope and life afterward. Frank Wray, I applaud you!

I found this book to not only be uplifting but also very rewarding. For those who face obstacles in their life, this book will surely be uplifting and rewarding!

It is one thing to have the courage this author has to have survived such a truama and, another to have written this true story and, yet another and most importantly to have the courage and stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. This inspirational book is one that will touch many lives and will live forever in ones heart. It is also a most beautiful love story that will make grown women and men cry.

This book is definitely interesting. The premise hovers over a grand portion of the population in the U.S today, and is an interesting read. The rhetoric used in this book is a bit much, and might be over the heads of many readers, but it's short enough to digest easily.

The book definitely paints a clear portrait, and the arguments within are held in great regard to media, politics, and religion in contrast to addiction in its purest form.

Where the book starts to fall apart is that it's so straight edged that it might miss some people that really need to read this, and therefore it doesn't get a full 5 stars, but overall it's a worthwhile read.

So often, I just don't understand my colleagues and friends. This book is an eye opener. Hopefully, I will be able to communicate better because of it.

Religious beliefs can serve as an important function in our lives and many people have an intense faith that inspires them to serve their individual beliefs with an expression of fervor. But, ever since I've personally experienced some very shocking and depraved religious "mob " type behavior, in my own family and community, that I've also observed taking place so prominently across the country, I've been searching for answers to understand this troubling conduct and how to deal with it.

Not only does Dr Minor give tips on how to manage around this disorder, but he very clearly explains how so many churches have actually inspired this atmosphere by turning from the traditional gathering places, that used to inspire the parishioners into moral behavior that would honor God, into places that now inspire the parishioners to honor and satisfy their own self absorbed ambitions and to serve themselves with prestige, position, power and money. Dr Minor describes these churches as "Opium Dens" that are using flashy technology to spew out audio and visual messages to heighten an "addictive high" experience because a "high"of righteousness can deliver a feeling of superiority and safety.

Performing and communicating religiously can be a very admirable thing because religion is mostly viewed as representing goodness, love, kindness, joy, peace, and love - with a promise of an elevated afterlife. That's why it is so easy, for emotionally wounded people, to hijack and then use religion as a convenient and attractive charade. It's a proven fact that nothing can anesthetize and cover up toxic shame and fear better than religion. Not only have we seen countless examples of religious and political leaders.... who have used religion to escape their own unacceptable reality and double lives, (i.e. Ted Haggard, molesting Priests....) but we can see how so many are also shamelessly using it to maximize their own profits and power.

In this excellent book Dr Minor explains how the religious right has misused and thus corrupted religion in this way and turned it into a drug they've become addicted to - all to divert their focus away from their real or imagined shameful problems onto satisfying their own insatiable selfish purposes to feel blameless, virtuous, pure, superior and especially RIGHT. He also points out how some Christian beliefs may be contributing to that fanaticism.

Christianity teaches that even though humans are created in "God's perfect image," we are still broken, depraved and flawed beyond any capacity to change anything ourselves. In other words, while taking personal responsibility is considered to be a virtue, Christianity teaches we have absolutely no "human" ability to repair ourselves. We can't feel valuable unless God loves us.

All across this country, power hungry religious leaders, who claim to speak for God, are pointing out to their gullible followers that even though God is inclined to love them, despite their awful worthlessness, the promise of forgiveness, joy, peace, love, hope, health, safety, material prosperity, mansions, BMW's, diamonds, and a perfect harmonious fellowship with God can't be achieved unless they give more money, pray longer, serve better, worship oftener, read and study the Bible harder, keep their questions quieter, follow the rules closer.... and there are always some other faults they need to over-come before they can enjoy God's favor. After all, God tells us we are living under a death sentence and deserve unimaginable abusive punishment for an unimaginable time period if we don't believe and perform correctly. In the end all this very conditional love, that is fed as the "good news,"generates the very shame that often leads to addictive behaviors. It takes a lot of energy to constantly run from a brutal and vengeful God, who can never be appeased, and from the hated incessant devil that never gives up.

Since the human body tends to adjust to an addiction, it eventually requires an ever larger dose. Just like the consumption ritual of alcohol, the religious fanatical rules, rituals and prayers also only work temporarily, so they must be repeated again and again - first weekly, then daily, then hourly, then more potent, and harsher, and more rigid, which must also be imposed onto or adopted by others.

And because addicts see themselves as victims, they must punish their victimizers, who are way more sinful and therefore preventing them from living a "perfect" life and from achieving their just rewards. (Feminists, different churches, blacks, Muslims, immigrants, Communists, socialism, liberals, Humanists, gays, science, teachers/professors, lawyers, (expect corporate lawyers) government..... and even taxes. (Except those their children and grandchildren will have to pay) They always need to find yet another paranoia and invent a new object of terror to defeat - which is why their witch hunts can never end.

Just like a typical alcoholic, pretty soon a religious addicts abilities to logically reason and view anything in more than one way becomes impaired. Their rational thoughts are suspended, and they become so self absorbed that they even believe themselves to be so holy and therefore exempt from all the rules they hold others to. Not only are they justified to break laws, but also to hurt others. This self worship is used to elevate their self-worth, keep their own horrible sense of fear, shame and failures at bay and feel better about themselves. In other words, for a religious addict, to escape those painful realities, the causes always need to become bigger and even more evil in their minds - which could be why they always seem to focus on still another sinner and another issue to direct their punishment, fear and hatred against. Since they no longer believe in their own sin, they externalize all the evil which leads them to regularly notice a twig in the eyes of others but never the log in their own.

However, Dr Minor has observed that politics has become the new more potent drug for those whose "high" from their church and prayer activities and their Bible readings and study is no longer powerful enough. He believes that the religious addict's ever increasing search for the "high of righteousness" - which has been described as equal to the high of cocaine" has led them to enter the political system in their pursuit for an even greater "fix." What could provide a more potent "rush" than the potential control of the lives in an entire nation via creating a new constitution amendment outlawing gayness, turning government into a theocracy and using the military to eventually even control the world?

This is an example of what happens when an addiction turns from a personal matter and becomes so out of hand that it negatively and illogically affects massive amounts of people all around them. History is full of such horrific events where God was turned into a weapon to control, kill and beat people down.

While religion has always been the best device to mislead and manipulate people, it's been just frightening to observe how the misuse of religion by fundamentalist churches, their media programs all the way to the Congress and the White House, has led to such ultimate corruption and betrayals. In my own opinion, their addictive behaviors have destroyed any good in their religions and instead have revealed their horrible hatred, vicious intolerance, unjust judgments, and mean spiritedness. They proclaim since they alone have the ultimate truth, they have the right to impose it on everyone else as well. This is the Christianity the religious right is posturing and representing for all the world to see and LOATH - doing incredible damage to Christianity and REAL Christians all over the world.

First, I'd like to note that I've talked to many, many people who judge this topic before reading about it.

Not in a bad way necessarily - folks might giggle at the thought of their sister/brother/cousin, etc., who is a religious fanatic. Or, folks might scoff at the concept of religion as addiction, thinking that the author is being hyperbolic, or exaggerating a metaphor.

But this is not at all the case. In this book, the author quotes a variety of experts & demonstrates that brain physiology, social function, etc., of some religious activities can parallel other addictions such as drugs and alcohol. This is the "high" of self-righteousness.

If you're unfamiliar with this concept (called "process" addictions), you might want to take a look at some of his sources. The most accessable readings include: When Society Becomes an Addict, The Addictive Organization: Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss, and Perpetuate S, Escape from Intimacy: Untangling the ``Love'' Addictions: Sex, Romance, Relationships, & Incest and Sexual Addiction.

But the main point of this book is not really to explain the addiction - it's to point out how many of us *enable* the addiction. We might excuse it, deny it, scoff at it, overlook it, defend it... and maybe the most popular response, we try to be nice & get along with them. All of these responses actually enable the behavior, and just set up a vicious cycle of crazy-making.

The bulk of the book is about how and why this addiction has grown into public life - particularly, the political domain. This is mostly due to mainstream society who enable the addiction (primarily, the media & so-called liberals). But you will also see examples of how to stop enabling religious addicts in your own life.

So if you disagree with the premise (that religion can be an addiction), this book might change your mind. And if you agree with the premise, think again - you might actually find the book more disagreeable than you think. You might even discover that you've accidentally enabled a religious addict.

I found this book to be a great tool to add to my base of knowledge. As a CBE,Doula I come across women that have had previous abuse issues. This book gives you the awareness to handle (not treat) these issues in a sensitive way. It has different sections for Midwives,Doulas,CBE'S, ETC. I found it worth adding to the reference library.

This book was a good read for survivors of sexual trauma and abuse. There is very little out there that understands the triggers that a natural process like childbirth and pregnancy brings up in a survivor. This book really addressed survivor issues and needs. It also identified triggers and issues that may have been lurking in someone's mind but not necessarily identified. The book also differentiates the concepts between those people who have already disclosed and have gone thru some type of therapy and those who have not yet disclosed.

An excellent resource for any women who has survived abuse and anyone who cares for women. The second section is invaluable to those who have a hard time communicating with or feel misunderstood by their providers. Recommended whether you are pregnant or not.

As health care professionals, we all encounter clients with a greater need to 'control' their experience, especially surrounding childbirth. Many caregivers find this situation difficult and wish that relationships could be more productive and less confrontational. Understanding why some women make more demands than others can help us to 'read' their needs in a more compassionate way -- as sometimes it is a healthy response to a history of abuse (acknowledged or hidden). We then stand a better chance of working with all women in ways that promote healing. I found this book very helpful.

Like Peter I lived and went through total hell from a matron while I was in the same orphanage. After reading Peters book while the locust slept,I relived the same anger, as Peter indured.This book should be a must read by anyone,who plans on going into the socialwork field and know that this is truly a non fiction tragedy which happened.This is a story that took place a long time ago,but could still and does happen today.

This is a chilling, true-life account of a childhood that should have never been, and 17 years of life that would forever haunt the author, Peter Razor. Peter, an intelligent boy that was raised in an orphanage as a ward of the state, then placed in an abusive indentured farm home had a childhood that is reprehensible, and sadly true. Supposedly protected by the state, Peter became a boy who flinched from physical contact, and had no understanding of what a normal happy home should be like. Unlike Peter Razor, not all children were lucky enough to survive the abuse that could be found in state orphanages when Peter was growing up. Corporal punishment went unchecked, and Peter, an American Indian, also had the added disadvantage of prejudice thrown in. Eventually placed on a farm, his placement was not carefully monitored, and the abusive treatment with this family was never noted by the social worker who was suppose to be monitoring Peter's placement. While the Locust Slept, a Minnesota Book Award Winner, is a compelling, well written tale that reads like a novel, yet is sadly a true tale of a horrific childhood that was unchecked by the state that was suppose to be protecting him

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Razor while on a trip to Cochiti Lake, New Mexico. After talking for a while he passed me a copy of his book and asked me to read it and then share it with others. I read the book cover-to-cover on the trip home and was amazed that the man I had talked to had once been the little boy in the book. Mr. Razor was a kind and gentle man that never revealed the scars from his childhood in any part of our conversations. America's inhumane treatment of the Indian people is well documented. This book offers graphic descriptions of individual cruelty that was fueled by ignorance and prejudice. I don't know if many human beings could have endured this sort of trauma and survived to be so kind. Peter is a truly incredible person and I would recommend his book to anyone.

My father as well was in the Owatonna "orphanage" which he termed as an "intournment camp/prison"! Babies and children were treated more tragically at this place than you could even imagine. Babies died for lack of "touch" and nurturing! Children were beaten, mauled, and oftentimes died as a result of such treatment. Peter Razor cites an insightfully true story of just SOME of the horific experiences of babies and children in this most insightful book on our country's past (AND EVEN PRESENT) ways of "Social Services" treating our "lost" children!! A MUST TO READ!

Ms. Ford has courageously put a face on the shameful epedemic and barbarian act of child abuse and AIDs ignorance around the World and specifically South Africa. This is an intimate and eloquent chronicle of how Ms. Ford and her daughter Vyanna's life intersected at precisely the right moment when the world needs to hear God..

This story gives us a glimpse of what happens when we open our hearts, excercise our faith and believe that, all of us, must take responsibility for the children.

African American, globetrotter, midwife, activist, scholar, feminist, author, mother, Claudia J. Ford is an extraordinary woman who has lived many places in the world while honing her expertise of issues of international development while raising three sons. On December 2, 2001, in a ghetto porn theatre in Johannesburg, a five-month-old girl was sexually violated -- gang raped and left for dead. Within two weeks of this incredible assault, little Vyanna would find herself in the care of Claudia Ford. In Why Do I Scream At God For The Rape Of Babies? Claudia candidly addresses an horrific reality. In South Africa more than 15 percent of all reported rapes are against children under the age of eleven. 26 percent are against children ages twelve through seventeen. In the year 2000, fifty-eight children a day were raped or the victims of attempted rape. This seminal, ground breaking memoir is a testament woven of journal entries, poems, epigrams, letters, and even portions of scholarly papers, and is specifically intended to lift the veil of silence and secrecy on this widespread atrocity. Why Do I Scream At God For The Rape Of Babies? embraces the power of love, courage, faith, and hope to change the world into something better for the sake of future generations. Would there were more autobiography voices against other such social injustices in the modern world.

How can we live in a sophisticated high tech world where desperate ignorant men rape babies to rid themselves of AIDS, addicted and abused women allow their babies to be brutalized, and governments play games with HIV/AIDS statistics to make sure tourism is not undermined in their country? When I finshed the book and wiped my tears, I too felt angry and wanted to scream. This poignant journey of one strong woman and one strong-willed woman-child changes the screams of anger into shouts of victory. Ford embodies the strength that we all need to make changes in our "sophisticated" societies ... we can each stop screaming and start doing something about the challenges we see every day. Ford did that. A powerful book from a powerful spirit.

This book is engaging, moving and unforgettable. It will toll in your heart like a bell.
The reader begins a journey with Ford at her first meeting with the baby, a survivor of rape at five months old. Ford asks us how the world became complacent, how we lost feeling, lost compassion, and then takes the reader by the hand, and says "walk with me" and we begin to regain our senses. Through the clarity of her writing we allowed into Ford's tears, her grappling, her powerful mother's love and her struggle for solutions. Our Compassion is restored. This book will change you forever.

the best book I have ever read on the subject of why so many men abuse women in so many different ways. The other reviewer who talks about laughing when he read it is obviously a man who abuses women and he just couldn't stand the truth.

the best book I have ever read on the subject of why so many men abuse women in so many different ways. The other reviewer who talks about laughing when he read it is obviously a man who abuses women and he just couldn't stand the truth.

This book is unintentionally hilarious. It is also really badly written and quite embarrassing on the whole. It should have been called "Why people of both sexes hate this author". Anyone who subscribes to this stupid confused theory is either living in an alternate reality or just stupid. But really I'm not bagging this book out, it's great and should be filed with "The Rules" as one of the most idiotic books ever written. I'm in hysterics laughing now just remembering it.

this book changed my life. Ihad read lots of books about abusive men and never really understood why I had been treated the way I had been. This book finally cleared the fog. it lifted years of guilt and shame. I knew befor I had finished it that I was not responsible and that he would have hit me even if I had met his demands to be the perfect wife. I will always be grateful I found this book

This was the best book I've ever read! I bought it last weekend and couldn't put it down, I had to read it straight through. It's the true life of a fellow student at my school and it's one of the most painful stories ever, and what he has achieved since then is absolutely unbelievable. His story has given me a new perspective on life and I think that this should be required reading for just EVERYONE! The story leaves you craving more which I hope will soon follow. If you don't believe in God, or have any question about his powers, read this story. I know I did, until I read this amazing story.

This is a well -written book. There are a few grammatical errors but that is to be expected on the first try. I was able to read this book in one weekend and by the time I was finished, I wanted to know more. I wanted to know how this person is doing and where he is now. If you are reading this Dylan, I wish you all of the luck in the world.

I thought this was a good book for a first time author. He showed that abuse, neglect, pain and loneliness can be overcome with faith. It was a very dark path to take once you pick it up and start reading. Many of us can't understand this kind of abuse while others faired alot worse I'm sure. It is apparent to me that he is writing this as a way to help himself deal with the pain of running away from home and living in the woods while eating garbage. In turn, he is trying to help others that might be in the same situation.

I liked the honesty he portrayed. He constantly questioned and became angry with God. These are normal emotions for a child in the situation of abuse. I am sure he takes great comfort in knowing that his story can now be heard and believed. I look forward to the second book in the next chapter of his life.

I bought this book the second it came out and I just want to say that any parent who has a child that seems troubled should buy this book and read it. I have a son who thinks that the entire world falls apart when he doesnt get his way but after letting him read some of this book and showing him what a tough life is really like things have been great. I highly recommend that parents, teens and young adults should read this book and see how determination really pays off.

As a family mediation trainer, I am referring trainees to this book to get an inside look at domestic violence. As upcoming professionals, they need to recognize domestic violence and its effects. Dr. Majcher's story adds a face and voice to domestic violence and makes it real for us all.

Not only is the personal story interesting and hopefual, but the self help section is very easy to understand and use. A great book.

Finally, a book on domestic violence that gives us hope. I now know I can go on and have a normal life, and so can my children. I was inspired by the story and and self-help section was very clear. I wish everyone would read this book so they could understand domestic violence.

A Worthy Woman is fascinating, I couldn't put it down. Not only does Dr. Gail Majcher reveal her personal experience about domestic violence but, as a psychologist, she tells us what to do about it. She even has help for the abuser! Violence is over taking our society and Dr. Gail Majcher gives a handle for whaere to start to stop it. Thank you. Thank you.

A novel portraying a pastor's wife who is continually demeaned by her husband. When the husband's career is the primary source of the family's income, what is his wife to do when she knows he could lose his job if she allows his abuse to become public knowledge? Besides, how can he pay child support if he doesn't have a job? Will she be able to earn enough to support herself and her children on her own? And what if their church turns on her? Beth has to deal with these issues in addition to those other abused wives face. But Beth has her parents and two good friends to help her navigate this critical time of her life.

This novel deftly shows how verbal and emotional abuse destroy a woman's belief in her own abilities, therefore making her dependent upon her abuser. A pastor and his wife are the main characters in this timely novel which exposes the insidious nature of domestic violence - even in the church. The wife realizes the effect it's having on their two children and knows she must get them away from him. But she hesitates due to her self-worth, perception of reality, and fear of supporting herself and two children. This book is for everyone who's ever suffered from abuse or knows someone who has. No longer will you wonder "Why doesn't she leave?"You Know I Don't Love You

Very readable and highly realistic. I doubt people not in such a relationship realize how prevalent spousal (or for that matter parental, etc) verbal and emotional abuse is, and how very debilitating it is for the recipient. One can easily lose all faith in oneself, and feel physically incapable of taking any steps to remedy the situation. Meanwhile, the situation frequently eventually advances to physical abuse. This book does a good job of presenting this subject matter, yet remains a very readable story. I couldn't help reading fast, and finished it in two evenings.

Once I started reading this book it was hard to put it down. It is so well written and caught my attention immediately. I learned a lot about emotional and physical abuse and what it does to a family. There are stories going on within the story and is a book everyone should read.