Victims Books

Anyone involved at any point in the public school food-chain should be required to read this. It is a masterpiece. The first chapter describes the hell of it all in such a vivid way that I was crying to hard to keep reading. It's a short read, but life-changing.

This is the book that youth groups should mass order. Peretti recounts his own childhood growing up as a victim of both cystic hygroma (causing stunted growth and a speech impediment, among other problems) and bullying. He shares with painful detail how constant bullying effected his self-image ("I thought I was a monster") and how the school system typically does little or nothing to protect the weak. Even further, he illustrates his view of the world as governed by a higher system of rules, explaining why "Might makes right" is both a dangerous and a flawed philosophy. Peretti even confesses his own faults as an occasional bully, his failures to stick up for those weaker than himself. This is a super-quick read that will challenge adults to a new awareness of the bullying problem and will benefit every teen/pre-teen reader, whether he is a bully, a victim, or someone caught in the middle who doesn't know how to change "the way things are."

I was moved beyond words after reading this book. Peretti has a way of touching you and challenging you to meet the issues of our day with the love and compassion of Christ.

This is such an awesome book and maybe one of Peretti's best. He speaks of the dangers that our words and actions have on the outcome of ones personal as well as emotional life, if our society and schools keep going the way that they are. I definitely recommend this book to everyone who feels they are 'different' inside. Actually, everyone still in highschool and college should read it before it is too late.

This book was excellent. Not only for the abandoned, but for every woman! This book was very easy to read and very comforting. I loved it and would suggest everyone read it and pass it on. Carolyn is a simply beautiful woman. I think if the all women read this, especially young women it will save a lot of heartaches from ending dangerous, life-threatening. Teach a lesson before it needs to be taught! Give it to a young soul beginning a relationship - Thank you!

"In her hope-filled volume, POWER FOR THE ABANDONED WOMAN, Carolyn Gabriel provides a much needed and valuable service for any woman (or man for that matter) left insecure and self-doubting by a failed relationship. Her thoughts distilled from personal experience and reflection, offer positive direction for many people. They deserve widespread distribution."

"A compendium of poetic and common-sense insights into love and loss by an intelligent, spirited woman who has been there."

I know the author personally and she is a beautiful woman in herself. And she expresses this in her books. I found them very helpful, even when I didn't really NEED them. I even passed them on to my mom after I was done. I got this book when my boyfriend broke up with me a few years ago, and found it very enlightening. I got her other book this past summer and enjoyed it, very humorous. These are both great books for anyone.

An excellent book about the criminal mindset and how to protect yourself in a dangerous world.

I was a little troubled by the authors' emphasis on protecting children from sexual predators through explicit training programs. Police see such awful things every day, I know they want to help. However, in my opinion it is necessary to tread cautiously when teaching children to distrust people. Before any such program was given to my child, I would want to see at least some evidence that the program worked in reducing the incidence of sexual victimization among children who received it. I think that teaching children that they are in danger whenever they go anywhere alone, as many programs do, is pointless and harmful. My own husband is terrified of letting our ten-year-old play outside or walk to school unsupervised because "something might happen." Hundreds of kids at his school are driven there, even though they live within a mile of the school, because parents are so fearful. This is setting kids up for a lifetime of overdependence and obesity. The research I've seen on the subject suggests that the most effective programs for protecting children do not mention molestation at all, but focus on building social skills and teaching children to speak up for themselves when they have a problem.

PREDATORS: WHO THEY ARE AND HOW TO STOP THEM examines the lives, circumstances and modus operandi of predatory criminals, from their motives and methods of stalking and attack to lifestyle changes and techniques which will reduce the possibility of becoming a victim. In a world increasingly haunted by such predators, this book will provide invaluable safety keys for both general interest public library patrons and college-level collections strong in social issues. The authors point out those who commit crimes prey on the weak - and that a best defense is to appear strong and difficult. An outstanding safety guide.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book explains how you can reduce your risk of becoming a victim. The authors provide an understanding of how the criminal mind works and why the criminal may or may not pick someone as a victim. The book uses past crimes as examples and tells what the victim could have done that may have reduced their risk of becoming a victim. In the first example, the victim was a housewife who was raped by a criminal who lived nearby. She was watched by the criminal for 6 weeks. He knew that she and her husband maintained the exact same schedule every day. If the housewife and her husband had altered their schedules a few times a week, the criminal may not have chosen her as a victim. In finding the perpetrator of a crime, the investigators start by analyzing who the victim is and from learning this, a motive and suspects emerge. This is called "Victimology" and it is the foundation of all police investigations. I recommend this book highly. It is well written and very informative.

Title: Predators: Who They Are and How to Stop Them

Authors: Gregory M. Cooper, Michael R. King, Thomas McHoes

Summary: This book takes readers through the mindset of predatory criminals--their motives, various plans of attack, and way of thinking--and then teaches simple lifestyle techniques that will help reduce the risk of becoming victimized.

Criminal behavior specialists Greg Cooper and Mike King provide expert analysis based on real-life cases, in addition to moving insights from victims and criminals themselves. The authors make the point that the people who commit these crimes aren't much different from the predators of the wild, preying on the weak and unsuspecting. What makes these individuals more dangerous than their instinctive wildlife counterparts, however, is that they consciously choose to inflict their will on the more vulnerable members of their own species.

To protect our loved ones and ourselves requires that we truly educate ourselves about the predators who live in our society and then take appropriate action. This excellent, in-depth study will help readers lead safer lives.

Review: Television news, cable networks, and others are constantly bombarding us with how to protect ourselves. Commercials run on radio and television promoting the latest advances in home security systems. You can even purchase video cameras embedded in teddy bears, so you can spy on the babysitter to make they are only raiding your refrigerator, not your jewelry case.

But what many folks don't know is that a pair of dirty shoes can acts as a deterrent to a criminal.

Brad Morrison is a rapist who attacked 75 women across 11 states. Here is something this serial rapist had to say about how he selected a house.

"There were all kind of things that would make me say, 'This isn't the right place.' Like, if they had a dog, then forget it. Even a small one makes to much noise. If I saw a pair of construction boots, for example, out on the porch or on the landing, I walked right on by."

Predators: Who They Are and How to Stop Them is full of information from the attackers, rapists, and molesters themselves. There are chapters on Victimology and how to find ways to reduce you chance of becoming a victim. There are also sections on crimes against children, the elderly, and kidnapping.

But don't think that this is just another volume full of "lock your doors, make sure you install dead bolts." There is real information, gathered from interviewing real criminals, that many folks may have not thought of before.

This is one of the most fascinating books I have read on the subject of crime and crime prevention. I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough.

Senator Smith's book is an easy, well written read about a wonderful son, a close knit family and the joys and heartache of life. The overlay is realizing that ones child is battling mental illness before you the parent fully understands. Senator Smith lovingly talks about Garrett's "angel mother" and his self doubts (and guilt) about what he should have realized; what he could have done better. The book ends with a reach out to encourage others in the same situation to recognize the signs of depression and to get help early. By telling his family's story Senator Smith honors Garrett, travels the road of healing, and brings compassion to the thousands of families that find themselves in the same boat after a precious child's suicide. You really don't want to miss this book!

This was a heartfelt telling of one family's struggle with coping with their feelings of guilt in missing the clues to their son's severe depression, which ultimately lead to his taking his own life. It shows us how easy it is for those closest to someone to not see how much that person is struggling with their depression, and how a family can heal after the loss of that child. Keep the tissues nearby, but no matter your politics, you have compassion for the depth of dispair this family reached in dealing with their loss. For a public figure such as Sen. Gordon Smith , writing this book exposing their heartache, took a great deal of courage, but was a big step in their healing.

The book was excellent. Very well written. An excellent story and eye opener of where depression and mental illness can lead if unchecked. I thouroughly enjoyed the book and will re-read it many times. cp

I must admit. I didn't vote for Gordon Smith last time around. As a "dyed-in-the-wool" Democrat, I usually support my party candidates. Yet, he was re-elected, and is currently serving as a Republican senator from Oregon. In 2003, his son Garrett committed suicide, ending a long struggle with depression. Immediately my interest was peaked, as someone who suffering from episodic depression from time to time. With his usual composure, Senator Smith remained quiet about this intensely personal matter. And now, a few years later, Gordon Smith has written a book about his son, a stunning, personal memoir, "Remembering Garrett".

The book is partially a recounting of the amazingly normal life of Garrett Smith, the struggles he had with dyslexia, and the few brief successes he had with his church. Smith writes as lovingly and honestly as any parent could; reflecting upon his son's life with a familial quality that is pleasing to read. What even surprised me more about the book was how Smith wrote about questioning himself after Garrett's suicide. Smith has always appear strong and resolute; this event clearly shook him to the core.

Much too often, it appears that our politicians act without much forethought of the consequences of their actions. Clearly, this has changes Senator Smith's thoughts and actions as he has become a tireless advocate for the prevention of depression. While clearly parents who have suffered the loss of a child will relish every page of this book, most everyone, especially those of us who experience depression, will find some gems of wisdom in this beautiful tribute to Garrett. This book is a must-read.

This is essentially the material of Kazan's The Arrangement arranged to formulate a conception of theater derived from After The Fall, and it shows the fruits of having written that monumental play. It takes two thirds of the play's length to get its mechanism functioning, and when it does it's a poetic surrealism of great flexibility and subtlety, capable of shifting planes of thought instantaneously, and provided with a set of cinematic flashbacks and evocations which happen in full view of the mind's eye of characters onstage, in a story of Christ between two thieves.

The Ride Down Mt. Morgan is an engaging play, one that provides the reader (or viewer) with as much food for thought, as amusement. Is it a masterpiece? No. Not by any stretch. Death of a Salesman is a masterpiece.

Lyman Felt is certainly a colorful character from whom we can learn much, not just about bigamists, but also about ourselves. He is not, however, a Willy Loman, a character so strongly defined that he's entrenched in the American (if not the world's) psyche. Felt effectively represents and helps us to understand (if not forgive) a specific type of man; Loman effectively represents the sometimes overwhelming frustrations any of us endures in pursuit of the elusive American dream.

Miller does succeed in The Ride Down Mt. Morgan by prompting us to consider what might motivate a man who constructs an elaborate network of lies in an attempt to keep two wives. In his own mind, Felt is justifiably keeping both women happy and (again, in his own mind) he loves them both so much, he couldn't stand to let either one go. For some time, he is quite successful in living these two lives.

After surviving an accident (or was it an accident?), however, both women arrive at the hospital to take care of him. Now that the deception is uncovered, the real damage unfurls; both wives know they can't trust him; both feel they were never truly loved; both are forced to make swift decisions, none of which are surprising or irrational given the circumstances. Although Felt is charming enough to win our affection, we still come away believing he pretty much gets what he deserves. I might be wrong. Maybe Felt does represent us all. Sure, few of us are bigamists; but maybe Felt really represents the very damaging, but human desire we all have to have your cake and eat it, too.

In a number of ways, "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan" parallels "Death of a Salesman". Both plays include a man searching for something in the present with flashblacks spliced into the scenes. The greatest difference between the plays is that many people can identify with Willy Loman from "Death of a Salesman. It is harder to identify with Lyman Felt and his bigamy.

Lyman wants to find happiness and discover himself. After one successful marriage, he begins an affair that leads to a pregnancy. Rather than taking a more logical route, Lyman chooses to marry a second wife. He leads the second wife to believe that he divorced the first wife. Nine years later, a car accident on Mt. Morgan leads the two wives to meet at the hospital. It is there that Lyman explores his motivation for bigamy and the guilt for the pain he has caused. Ultimately, Lyman discovers his true self in loneliness. He is left to himself and the mess he created.

"The Ride Down Mt. Morgan" seems a bizarre premise for Miller to explore. The reader must wonder if bigamy is a more narrow divorce for Miller to explore extra-marrital affairs. While this aspect of the storyline seems distant, it is hard not to feel the emotion in this tale of love lost.

In Arthur Miller's splendid play, the main character Lyman Felt concludes that if you try to live according to your real desires, you have to end up looking like a s---. That's his explanation for never divorcing his first wife before marrying another. It's when his car crashes traveling down a snow covered Mt. Morgan that his double life is exposed. His two wives meet and the issues of fidelity, true love, deception and honesty are explored. Can a person remain true to himself and still always true to another? Arthur Miller poses wonderful food for thought in this witty, poignant masterpiece.

This book was great and is helping me. As a Christian woman, I am currently going through something similar to what Kay went through regarding how I feel about God. I also wonder why I don't feel comfort from reading the Bible. Both of these issues are addressed, along with how we victims are treated within the Church. Reading the verdict made me cry -- it was very similar to mine -- but that was very therapeutic. I read it in one day and it comes highly recommended.

The author's candor about her experiences was very helpful. Her story helped me realize that I was not alone with the after-feelings of my assualt and that there was hope for recovery. "Hope" was something I had not felt from the time of my assault until I read the book. It was immensely helpful to hear from someone who has "been there." Even well-meaning therapists don't always understand what its like the way someone who has walked in your shoes can. This book was that for me.

I LIKED THIS BOOK BECAUSE AFTER READING IT I FELT THAT I WAS NOT ALONE AND WHAT I AM FEELING IS NORMAL. IT TOOK READING THIS BOOK TO UNDERSTAND THAT. IT MADE ME SEE THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT HAS THOUGHT THE SAME THINGS I HAVE. I AM NOT ALONE.

Easy reading. Raped while in christian ministry in rough neighborhood out with but temporarily separated from a co-worker. No mention or views on other types of abuse yet reflects integration over time, effects on her marriage. Thought useful for survivors who have gone through individual counsel.

It has always been my opinion that if a book is good it should be able to transport the reader to another time and place. "A Silent Cry" by Mr. Lee did that for me. Uncomfortable at times while reading this, one walks briefly into a life of poverty, pain and rejection.

Charles Lee's book is a slice of Americana - Black Americana, that I found hard to put down. With each page you feel the frustration and despair of Mr. Lee, only to watch him rise later to yet another challenge. And the way Mr. Lee understates the painful events of his life, one begins to understand why his is a "Silent Cry".

"A Silent Cry" really moved me. It is amazing how one can tell their memories of life, along with the trials and tribulations that one go through.

I found this book to be interesting, since I, myself, had to go through a lot. Who would have thought that reading this book would heal some wounds. Now I know that I was not the only one who has been down a rough road of life.

Charles Lee really told it like it was. I could hardly put the book down!

I have recommended this book to several people. As a matter of fact, my copy is now missing from my library!

I was very impressed with a "Silent Cry" by Charles Lee. The book captivated me with it's depiction of Mr. Lee's life situations. It was also very motivating to see someone who was faced with so many obstacles throughout his life, but never gave in to defeat but rather arose to each battle that life dealt him.

I particularly enjoyed chapter 7 when Mr. Lee finally meets his soul mate. It was enlightening to see love prevail in the end. I would definitely recommend a "Silent Cry" by Charles Lee to all of my friends and family.

I really enjoyed the book "Silent Cry" by Charles Lee. What I thought was interesting is that the writer was able to give my imagination the surrounding and the time in Era, (years, age,place) and description of the surrounding during his episodes. Also this writer was able to put details of his feelings, and his inner thoughts on paper, during his year growing up. I thought that most males, have a hard time expressing feelings, such as pain, failure, and incompatability with the opposite sex. I though feel that he isn't alone, with the way he was brought up. I think that as more people read this book, they will find apart of their lives being lived by this writer. I liked that even though he had a lot of negative obstacles and people in his life, (as we all did/do in our lives.) He was able to have positive people that were able to purge the negativity from his life. I am sure this book touches a lot of hearts, both his family and strangers. I can tell that Mr.Lee is a simple man, and was inspired to read this because we can get a hold of a lot of reading material on famous people, (president,movie stars,athlete,etc) negative lives, and people should that we all have in common negative energy (people/obstacles) that finds everyone no matter what colour or country you come from. In closing I want to say that Mr. Charles Lee, probably wrote a brief part of his life, as I am sure he has lived more since his closing of the book "Silent Cry" I do await part 2. Thank you for your time in reading my review. Sincerly, Joni

This books haunts me, as I have worked on ships in the merchant marine and find this story completely believeable. An "accident" or a disappearance aboard ship would simply be forgotten or ignored. It is a different world aboard ship and the distance between the officers and unlicensed seamen is vast, add to that different nationalities of the various groups and it is amazing. I was once on a ship with facists, communists and social democrats. This is a good read.

Basing his fiction on real people and real events, Canadian novelist Hough enjoys the best of two worlds. He has the reporter's pleasure of research and nosiness, and the novelist's freedom to call on imagination to supply what's missing from the record.

His first novel, a fictionalized memoir, "The Final Confession of Mabel Stark," was a raucous, atmospheric portrait of a real female tiger trainer in the heyday of the big circus. His second couldn't be more different, except that it's also based on real people and real events.

Hough sticks closer to fact in this contemporary sea story, working from participant interviews and official documents. The harrowing tale, which many readers will remember from newspaper accounts, begins with two Romanian stowaways discovered aboard the container ship Maersk Dubai in March 1996. The Filipino bosun, Rodolfo Miguel, escorts them to the Taiwanese officers who argue briefly among themselves before reaching a decision that fills Rodolfo with horror.

What follows is a deliberate, detailed recreation of the Romanians' last moments. Though they share no common language with the Filipino crew or Taiwanese officers, understanding is not long in coming. "Rodolfo can see this understanding disfigure their faces and turn their skin the colour of ash. In a second, their hands are in the air, posed in a symbol of prayer, and they are pleading again, "Por favor, por favor, por favor...."

The captain has Rodolfo and his seamen lash together a flimsy raft and throw it overboard. "The younger stowaway refuses to move. His knees have fused, his hands have clamped to the knotted rope banister, his words have become a torrent." And when it's all over: "Rodolfo stands perfectly still, gaping not so much at the alacrity with which two men ceased to be, but at the impeccable ease with which evil appeared out of salty vapour, and claimed for itself the Maersk Dubai."

Intercut with the claustrophobic dread aboard the voyaging container ship, as the officers dispense small treats and bribes to the stunned crew, is the story of another young, desperate Romanian, Daniel Pacepa, as he makes his illegal way across Europe, towards a big ship and a stowaway passage to America.

Daniel's real-life counterpart refused to co-operate in the writing of this novel, so Hough has made his adventure a composite of numerous other Romanian emigrants' experiences, involving narrow escapes, the kindness of strangers, man's ordinary inhumanity to others less fortunate, lots of drinking and drugs and work where he can get it. But Daniel never comes across as a type; he's a lonely, hopeful, cunning and resourceful individual, a bit lost and out of his depth until he meets an older, bigger, drunker, more experienced companion, Gheorghe Mihoc (real name), in the drunk tank of a Bucharest jail.

As Daniel and Gheorghe hop trains, brawl, flee, go hungry, drink copious amounts of alcohol and work their way across Europe to that hub of illegal embarkation, Algeciras, Spain, the crewmen aboard the Maersk Dubai spiral down into an almost surreal life of fear, danger and mistrust.

The officers no longer bribe them with delicacies and promises of promotion. In most ports they are unable to leave the boat and when they do get leave fear keeps them silent. They are watched, and when they meet secretly it's more for the comfort of solidarity than any hope of planning action. Slowly the sense of urgency and horror ebb. The men just want to make it through the trip.

Things aboard the boat begin to break down. There's a carbon monoxide leak in the engine room, the lifeboat mechanism is malfunctioning, the emergency fire pumps are broken and the water sterilizers are faulty. The third engineer is forced to pump bilge into the ocean, an offense that could cost him his license. Despair and anger and defeat hang in the air they breathe.

But Daniel Pacepa and Gheorghe Mihoc are on a collision course with the Maersk Dubai. What happens when they come together is a tense tale of heroism, betrayal and mortal danger for all involved.

Hough, whose writing is effortlessly poetic and evocative, goes for the human component behind each action and inaction. While he never stints on the adventure and suspense, his primary focus is the human heart; what any individual is willing to live or not live with, and how the group dynamic and a man's social status (crew vs. officer, poverty vs. authority) affects this morality. If this seems reminiscent of Joseph Conrad, it is doubtless not an accident. Hough's sophomore effort resonates long after the last page is turned and I, for one, can't wait to see what he fastens on next.

the Stowaway is a wonderful read. From the beginning of the book
you are captivated by the story of refugees trying to stuggle.
The refugees come from Romania and the author recreates their
world with shattering and terrifying detail. Interspersed with
the stories of refugees's struggle to make it to the west, are
the stories of a group of Filipino sailors who work on a large
carrier that is crossing the ocean from Spain to North America.
The story of the sailors held less interest to me as I was often
confused by their nautical roles. I am just not one for stories
about the sea. But there is so much tension and terror in this
great novel, that when the two worlds collide, you don't know what will happen and you fear for the worst. For this reader
the stregth of the novel is the depiction of the wonderful Romanian stowaways. Anyone who is interested in the life of
an immigrant and the horrors of the eastern european world under
communism, will find this story fascinating.
As an extra treat, the author provides an excellent afterword
to the book which describes the process he carried through to
complete this book. It is insightful and very helpful to read about the true adventures of the characters he bases his book
on. I have very high regard for this author and this novel.
It is a very informative, exciting and strongly persuasive read.

Robert Hough's "Stowaway" is a great literary accomplishment. It combines two unlikely storylines,the crew of an Atlantic cargo freighter and the travels of a pair of Romanian immigrants, to form a compelling and emotional story. The internal conflict of the sailors is made very real and vivid by Hough, and the interaction between the characters through a language barrier is nothing short of ingenious.

My personal favorite element of the novel is Hough's description of the decimated social and political landscape of Romania and neighboring European countries. His words leave a lingering impression on the reader, and inspired me to learn more about the history of Romania under the brutal reign of Ceausescu.

Also, the author's use of the present-tense in his narrative is an unusual and refreshing change of pace from the status quo.

This beautifully written gem should be required reading for anyone who feels they understand the Holocaust. Ursula Duba is brutally honest in her portrayal of "civilized" behavior in difficult circumstances. This book will take your conscience on a difficult trip by showing us that we are all responsible for protesting injustices in the world around us.

This book belongs on the same shelf as Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" and "Schindler's List." Duba really gets inside her characters -- victims, perpetrators and those in-between. Her poems will leave lasting impressions and have readers returning to the pages many times.

In reading Duba's book, my first inclination was to be suspect of this German gentile who had the audacity to portray the Jewish experience of the Holocaust, but as I read the sequence of story poems that, like blocks, built a picture of the complex, multi-layered experience of all the participants, I began to soften and ultimately came over to join her in viewing the experience from her vantage point. Duba is brutally honest with herself, requiring me too, to examine my prejudices and stererotypes. Her courage to face herself and to face up to others gave me the encouragement to examine my experience, to face down some of my haunting demons and the manadate to speak out. - Second generation Holocaust survivo

TALES FROM A CHILD OF THE ENEMY by Ursula Duba compels us to realize that the past is a state of mind. She carries us back into her childhood in post-war Germany, and then quietly returns us to the present. There, through our own time, Duba again carries us back, this time further and deeper and into the psyches of those who were witness to the inhumanity of the Third Reich. We realize that the events of another time and another place envelop and profoundly affect the way our present is seen and tolerated by certain individuals, people whom we might very easily know. We come to realize that their struggle, their understanding, and their insights can have profound influence on the world around us. That this is true, especially for those of us who presumed that our realtionship to the events of WWII and the Holocaust were non-existent or at least, very distant, is stunning. We are inescapably drawn into Duba's mind and heart by the deceptively conversational tone of her poems, by her easy description of events and issues which so quickly become as familiar to us as the events in our own lives. The lives of others and the "then" which has impacted so strongly upon them today, becomes a part of our own lives, our own now

I have used this book in teaching a graduate course in trauma. Most students found it to be an invaluable resource. The clinical examples provide readers with critical information for consideration. It highlights in a highly readable fashion the complexities, pain and vast rewards of working with trauma survivors.

If you are working with survivors, this is a "must have" part of your library. TRAUMA AND THE THERAPIST not only has a clear and compelling theoretical basis, but it is uniquely helpful in clarifying both the universal and idiosyncratic nature of our reactions to survivor clients. I read it at a time of major crisis for myself in my work [and in my workplace] and it helped me understand what was going on in a way that was immediately useful, helped end my confusion and personal agony, and aided me in finding my way back to the joy of practice with this challenging population.

As a physician with a psychology background, working with many abused women in a general practice setting, I found the experience, wisdom, and insight presented in this book to be extremely practical and useful. It is an in depth discussion of the deeper issues of therapy and recovery related to sexually abused people. I found the early theoretical-base explanation somewhat unuseful. But the discussions with regard to transference and counter-transference were wonderful. It is marvelous to read such a well thought out collection of experience. This book is slow reading for me, given the time needed to process what is being said, but it could be read over and over again to glean deeper meaning. The focus on spirituality is somewhat shallow in my opinion. They explain it to be one of their focuses, but they never expound on it to deeply. Regardless, this book is a must read if you work with abused people. Our clients will all be better served in their recovery's if we can all better master the sensitivities and concepts presented in this book.

This is a wonderfully touching book, I could barely stand to put down. It is the finest book I have ever read on the therautic process of treating trauma victims and the effects of trauma experienced by the therapist. The depth of information regarding transference and countertransference and the exploration of what a therapist truely goes thru is simply to powerful to put into words. I have never read a book which deals with this subject from the therapists viewpoint, while not completely ignoring the client side either. But make no mistake, this is a book for understanding what therapists experience and for any therapist, graduate student, psychology instructor or interested lay person, this book is simply superb. My hats off to the authors who have truly done their profession a valuable service by making this information available - I found this book, hard and emotional to read and I am not a therapist, although I hope to be someday. I have a far greater understanding of the love and strength of character needed to specialize in treating victims of abuse so horrific, the authors made a point of deliberately leaving out extremely disturbing details of the story relayed in their book. Had they now chosen to do this, I venture to say very few people could tolerate the impact of these horrors. Even so, enough was left in to be seriously affected by the book. Should be required reading for every graduate program in the country. Heart Renching, Enlightening, Fascinating, and Painful...simply a marvelously written book - the authors should be very proud!