Victims Books

This book is one of the best books on the subject of coping with the adult effects of childhood sexual abuse. I would say it is a must-have for abuse survivors and their loved ones.

I bought this book as a friend of two survivors, but wound up fascinated by the clear definitions of the types of abuse. When I found these definitions, which are near the back of this little treasure of a book, I started to inventory the ways in which I had been abused by others. As I read, however, I discovered how often I have been the abuser, without realizing I was perpetrating various types of mental abuse. Seeing those definitions in black and white helped me to set boundaries to prevent others from abusing me further...and it helped me to recognize--and stop--my own abuse of them. I just backordered a copy for my local library.

Beverly Engle gave us a wonderful gift when she wrote this book. It is the first book I purchased when my sister told me that she was molested as a child. In plain and simple language, the author dispels many of the myths associated with incest and describes the various phases of recovery. I highly recommend this book to anyone with questions and concerns about childhood sexual abuse.

One night in March 1999, fifteen-year-old dance student Rachel Elizabeth Barber vanished. No one could have guessed that she had become another girl's 'perfect' victim. Happy. Beautiful. Talented. She had everything her killer could want.
Perceived by crime experts everywhere as one of the most bizarre homicides they had encountered, Perfect Victim recounts two stories: Rachel's mother Elizabeth Southall tells of her family's heart-rendering experience - how they lived through unimaginable tragedy, going to extraordinary lengths to prove their daughter wasn't a runaway. Criminal court reporter Megan Norris provides another side of the picture; the analysis, the astonishment of professionals when faced with the killer's weird and unsettling letters, and the police proceedings that led, eventually, to the Rachel Barber case being solved.

Confronting and compelling, this is an incredible story about a callous and calculated crime.

First read by myself little over three years ago at the tender age of sixteen, Perfect Victim remains one of the most compelling works I have come across. The novel is essentially centred on Elizabeth Southall's intense and emotional tribute to her 15-year-old daughter, Rachel Elizabeth Barber, murdered by a troubled young woman driven to the unthinkable by obsession. Interspersed with Southall's story is an account of the case from the point of view of journalist Megan Norris, providing a detailed analysis of the motive and means while offering what little insight can be found into Rachel's 20-year-old killer.

Through the agony and ecstasy of Elizabeth's later entries emerges a truly beautiful tribute to her daughter's life, one that remains with you long after the pages close. It can remain difficult to twist yourself away from the ugliness of Rachel's early demise, yet, like Elizabeth, towards the novel's close you are simply inspired by the energy of Rachel's life. With the contribution of Norris' perceptive examination of the Barber case, Perfect Victim shines as a profound insight into love, death and beyond.

Feel free to discuss your own reflections on this exceptional book with me at bijou_bleu{at}hotmail.com.

I was drawn to a copy of Perfect Victim, thanks to the hypnotic, engaging and exquisitely beautiful eyes of Rachel Barber. The fifteen year old girl from Melbourne portrayed in this touching book. I got a copy for my Mum for Mother's Day 2002, since she loves true stories. I also felt I'd enjoy reading it and I really did. This book has touched me like no other real life account from a mother's perspective ever has. The events happen here in locations I know so for me it does have a chilling aspect to it I could relate to. I don't read many real life stories since they can have a profound effect on me. From the very first line it had me in a state of shock, and always incredibly moved. We never get to really know Rachel because from the start she has already vanished. So a sense of dread already comes over me. It's only through reading from chapter to chapter do the events of her disappearance take shape, and her final hours are reconstructed in a fascinating series of events, I couldn't even see coming. Yet it is a very gratifying resolution to Rachel's disappearance, and one I really enjoyed reading. Both sides of the story are addressed, not only from the mother of Rachel, but the killers story making this better then most other books around.

I think this would make an effective movie one day. I can see myself directing it but then maybe I'm a little too close to the subject matter. I might not also have much experience in this field but I guess it's all relative. I don't know anyone in this book but I wish I did. Rachel's eyes are a big part of the attraction to her I think. Nothing pychotic intended, just pure interest and a deep love to remember her affectionately. I think Ron Howard would do a wonderful film if offered it even though it may never be on the market for filming. To me, Ron did such effective films for 'Ransom' and 'The Missing'. Even though he doesn't like to do kidnapping stories I still think he does them extreamly well.

If I had to choose characters for a film I'd probably choose Amanda Seyfried as Rachel. Mika Boorem as Heather. Amber Tamblyn as Ashleigh-Rose. Hilarie Burton as Caroline. Pattie Tierce as Elizabeth the mother. Matt McCoy as the father Mike.

In 2002, the year this was first published, I discovered Rachel would have been eighteen. Now in 2005, if she had lived, and I believe she and others who have passed into heaven have never really gone, would have been twenty-one this year in September, and that is a very special event for most people. So for anyone who has lost someone close to them, you'd always want to remember. That's how I feel.

I really couldn't say a word wrong with this book, even though someone is sure to find faults. I'm sure I'll also hold a special place in my heart for this precious little girl, so please be respectful to my review and the subject matter. I'm so thrilled it has been recounted for people to read. I have also passed where Rachel used to dance and while I've never been to a funeral or visited her grave there would be time for that one day I'm sure. May we all look out for each other those past and present.

I'm more then happy to speak with anyone who has read this book and feels as touched as I continually am about everything it contains. A book I'm very proud of, and couldn't imagine it not being in my vast book collection. This is one of my favorite books and will always be special to me. I will always love this book.

This book was profound and I can't wait to hear from this author again.

This book was wonderful. It keep me in tears. Can't wait for the next book.

I felt inspired after reading this book. These brave survivors tought me how to appreciate my children and understand that they could be taken away from me at any moment. I will never drop them off at school, or tuck them in at night without letting them know how much I love them.

This is a superbly written book about the kidnapping and murder of Robert and Paula Sims infant daughters - one in 1986, and amazingly, a second (and very similar) occurrence in 1989.

The book opens when two weeks after their daughter is born, Paula Sims shows up at a neighbor's front door, hysterical, claiming a man forced his way into her home and kidnapped her daughter. As authorities get more details, her story seems more and more implausible, and though the sheriff suspects Mrs. Sims of killing her own child, no solid evidence can be located to prove his suspicions. After days of searching, the body of the baby is found in the woods behind the couple's home. With nothing to substantiate the sheriff's theory, the case is shelved, but remains open.

Three years later the Sims have a toddler son, and Paula has just given birth to a daughter. Incredibly, a second kidnapping occurs to their newborn, similar to the previous kidnapping. This time, however, the skeptical police have more to work with and are able to charge her with murder. The trial coverage is excellent and satisfying.

A grand jury didn't find enough evidence to charge Robert Sims with anything in connection to the murders, and I find it hard to believe he either had no knowledge or part in them, even if it was covering for his wife.

I highly recommend this book.

This story of murder and madness is one of the better true crime stories on the market. I could not put it down. Excellent!

OMG, buy this book. Read cover to cover in a day and felt it is on par with the best in the biz...This story is like nothing I have ever read, and I have read Small Sacrifices and all about Darlie Routier, etc. I promise, this may be an older book but it is an awesome find. LOVED IT!

Like the book, received it quickly and in good condition- Thanks!

This book reveals the mind of the learning disabled student as perhaps no other has before. The author's strong professional credentials and her ability to write insightfully serve as the foundations for a great read. As an attorney who works with disabled juveniles, it seems clear that professionals, parents, students and anyone else who cares about quality education can benefit by becoming sensitized to how disabled students react to their educational experience.

I am a college student and was not happy when I saw that we had to read this book. But, once I got started, I was glued to it. A very easy book to read that keeps moving along. THe ending will really surprise you! A must to read if you deal with kids at all or have kids!

Rest assured, while reading this review, that I will not give too much of the store away - nothing worse than a review that painstakingly spells out, in too much plot summary detail, what's going to happen, since part of the joy in reading Mr. Kyle Jarrard's splendid second novel "Rolling the Bones" is the narrative drive (achieved by exceeding reader expectation) that progresses all the way to the novel's middle, or rather muddle. Call it the Mexican muddle when one character's life is as stuck as a broken Frank Sinatra record. Note that the ending makes the muddle well worth wading and skimming through. From page one there's tremendous vitality. The writing is exceptionally lucid and the characters, in this character-driven novel, take on complex dimensions as they spring right to life in a small Texas town. At the outset Carl Stein and his fetching wife May, as drifters, land in the settled lives of Carl and Venus Blalock. The dramatic tension builds the more the couples' lives become connected, with the reader - this reader - being spellbound by the nature of Stein's character -- bad apple or peach? -- as he's put to the test while laboring for Blalock's hardware/lumber store. The men bond and the women bond and the writing, again, is lively - a pure joy to read. No slack in it at all. The varying points of view are refreshing, and the crisis action is riveting. Visiting Paris on a journalism assignment, I had the good fortune to interview Mr. Jarrard who brings to his craft an impressive crap detector a la editorial eye sharpened from many years as a senior editor for the International Herald Tribune. He told me that the first thing he does when he sits down to write is cut the previous day's writing in half. The result, let me conclude here, is prose that dazzles. Read this fine book.

Jarrard nailed this one � enticing me through a journey that I hoped would never end. Carl, Venus, May and Carl escort the reader through time and space, loss and discovery, love and death. From a casino in the swamps of Louisiana through the eternal winds across the dry plains of Texas and China, into and out of the womb of Mexico�s heartlands and Pacific coast, Jarrard�s intriguing characters encounter wisdom despite their best efforts in this gripping odyssey through dreams, reality and all points in between. The blend of captivating dialogue and sensual prose left me licking my lips as I tasted and smelled each scene. I can�t wait for his next novel.

It's like William Faulkner meets Larry McMurtry meets Kurt Vonnegut Jr. -- great writing, great story, weird stuff -- taking the reader from smalltown Texas to the jungles of Mexico to the casinos of backwater Louisiana, with a brief sidetrip on an alien spacecraft with JFK, not to mention occasional background music by Sinatra. The author is a Texan who works in Paris as an editor for the International Herald Tribune. I know him personally, so maybe I'm prejudiced, but for me "Rolling the Bones" is rocking 'n' rolling from first page to last. I couldn't put it down until I had finished it.

Ellen Macfarland has written a heartfelt book to help sufferers of all kinds of trauma. Her examples of how wolves, dolphins, trees, and more can heal are extremely helpful and poignant. She presents a way that is separate from medication and despair. It is inspiring and hopeful. Highly recommended. (I am an author of 9 books and depth psychology specialist.)

This book is filled with Grace from beginning to end. The author, Ellen MacFarland, focuses on the gifts of healing symbols in nature
and helps the reader to go beyond trauma toward a new and sacred pathway of life. The Grace in the author's writing reveals her own healing and gives much hope to the reader of reaching "The Sacred Path Beyond Trauma."

When our Soul is wounded, the Universe bestows a symbol in our consciousness to heal us and claim our full potential. This was a seminal contribution of Carl Jung's analytical psychology. However, what Jung did not emphasize and where Ellen Macfarland steps in with her unique observation is that the symbol itself is wounded and incarnates in the life of a trauma victim--not only to help the victim but also to heal itself through embodiment in the life story of the individual. As a noted Trauma therapist and a depth psychologist, a graduate of the renowned Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, Dr. Macfarland elegantly weaves this Uroboric reciprocity between the individual and nature. Nature gifts the individual with a symbol to heal their soul wounds, and the individual in turn becomes the spokesperson for the symbol, whether it is the endangered dolphin, the deforested tree, or the abused horse. This dance between the individual and nature is the delicate Tao or balance that is essential to sustain the very survival of the human soul and the fragile planet that we inhabit. True to her mission, Dr. Macfarland now lives close to nature in Montana, where she devotes her time to researching and writing about this reciprocal relationship between individual and the symbols of nature and ways in which they need each other for mutual healing.

Dr. Macfarland explores the mysteries of the horse nation, the dolphin nation and the tree nation and how these parallel universes exist alongside our human consciousness. These parallel states of consciousness stand ready to engage us, guide us and heal us from illness to health, from trauma to mastery of our soul wounds. These symbols not only help us to survive our life traumas but usher us to our higher spiritual purpose in this life time. She introduces us to the emerging mystery of the Wolf nation and its potential to help us understand the psychology of the wounded predator. This exploration of the inner victim of the ostensible perpetrator is crucial if we are to interrupt the vicious cycle of victim/perpetrator. She has much to offer to both lay and professional readers who chose to live in harmony with the other inhabitants of this small planet and in alignment with the guidance of their own soul. This inner harmony of our connection with our soul is a mirror of the respect, compassion and harmony with which we engage other wonderful plant and animal life forms. I look forward to her future books on this crucial subject matter of the healing symbols of nature.

Reviewed by Ashok Bedi, M.D.

Ashok Bedi is a psychiatrist, a Jungian psychoanalyst, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a faculty member and a training analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago and a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He is the author of Path to the Soul (Samuel Wieser Inc. 2000), Awaken the Slumbering Goddess (Booksurge Publishers 2007) and coauthor of Retire Your Family Karma (Nicholas Hayes Inc. 2003). His presentations and publications may be previewed at his website www.pathtothesoul.com

I'm so glad I discovered Monica Wood. Her language is gorgeous, her characters compelling, and she oh so delicately describes the pain and joy of human relationships, in a way we can all identify with. I highly recommend Secret Language, and can't wait to read more by this talented author.

Secret Language is a five star book in my opinion! It's about two sisters, Connie and Faith, who grow up in various hotels while traveling around the U.S. with their semi-famous parents. The two girls growup very fast because most of the time they are left alone. By the time Faith is just getting out of high school and Connie is in her senior year, they are left to take care of themselves because of the death of both their parents. They, especially Faith, go through their life stumbling over obstacle after obstacle. It takes Faith a long time to put her past behind her and to start over. There were charaters who were always there to help them through their journey and to let them know that they are special. This never really happened when they were kids. Monica Wood is an excellent writer and I'm excited to read some of her other books.

This was the first novel by Monica Wood, one of my new favorite writers! I first read "My Only Story" and then managed to find "The Secret Language". In between I read her newest book, "Ernie's Ark".

I loved all three books even though they were quite different. All are about families and how they shape us. Part of this theme is that families may be those whom we assemble around us rather than those related by blood.

In "The Secret Language", both Connie and Faith have suffered damage and serious neglect at the hands of their parents, Billy and Delle, traveling actors who were semi-famous but never achieved the fame they sought. These were people who really loved only themselves and the idea of who they were, and their two pretty little girls were part of this image.

The strong coping mechanisms that the sisters developed as children helped them then and continued to help them in adulthood. Unfortunately, the way that Faith coped was to try to avoid feeling too deeply. Despite having married into an outgoing family, the Dohertys, Faith has been walled off for so long that she is unable to connect and always feels like an outsider....they seem overwhelming to her. She seems incapable of allowing Joe to love her, and feels as if she is frozen and incapable of being any other way. Her sister Connie also fears love, but in a different way.

When Isadora appears and wants to be let into their lives, to be an instant sister, she does not realize she will never really be on the inside because there are no shared experiences. She will never see their father, Billy, for the narcissist whom he was, caring only about himself and the image he projected. Like Billy, Isadora is also self-absorbed and a user who will do almost anything to get her way. To say that she is manipulative is an understatement.

I really appreciate the way Wood develops her characters. As a reader, I feel that I know these people: feel their pain, their joy, their sorrow. What a gift!

For those who followed the Shadow Star manga series up to the end of volume 6, there was always a sense that something bigger was coming. Something dramatic and dark that will send chills down your spine. Perhaps a deep secret, perhaps a death or two, perhaps an unexpected revelation about the shadow dragons. But not even the most dedicated, forward-thinking devotees could have imagined this, for Victim's Eyes, Assailant's Hands has all of this and more. This is where it's all been leading up to, and only the content of the later volumes can come close to matching this one in terms of sheer revulsion. Fans have numerous nicknames for Shadow Star's volume 7 (volume 6 in Japan due to the arrangement of chapters in the English publication): "the sammichy stuff", "the emo volume", and "unlucky number seven" are just a few I use with my close friends who also read the series. And there's no doubt that any others out there are quite fitting. "But why?", you may ask--and the answer is that all who may consider buying this installment would do well to heed the word of their fellow readers. From start to finish, it chills to the bone and makes you wonder what shockers may come with the turn of the next page.

Back to the plot, young heroines Shiina Tamai and Akira Sakura set off for normal school days which soon take a crueler turn. High schooler Akira's mind is prodded at, ever so subtly, by high school bullies who find her weaknesses and exploit them with the sheer fact that she's the only one sitting alone, completely quiet. There are people at every school who deserve such shunning, but she's certainly not one of them. When she collapses in class and ends up in the school nurse's office, escorted by a spirited male classmate who has had quite the crush on her for a few years, neglected Akira pounces at her chance to feel loved by anyone at all. It is revealed in the beginning of this volume that even her own parents didn't treat her like decent parents should, and so with no one who gave her the affection she needed, young Ishida Toshi is the only one who she can trust in anymore. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what she tries to do next. Meanwhile, at Shiina's middle school, her genius friend Hiroko Kaizuka, who was introduced in volume 3 but never given any attention until now, is experiencing bullying leaps and bounds beyond that of a few insults or threats. I don't even want to think about how the group of bullies, who are barely younger than me, learned to be so sickeningly evil. They torment her when she does not meet their demands for poor test grades, and when she fails as they force her to, her parents scold her mercilessly. There are too many parents in the world like Hiroko's who think there is nothing more to their children's lives than perfect grades. But there aren't too many schoolgirl bullies who make their victims drink juice with worms in it and perform some rather, ahem, unconventional acts with a test tube. Poor Hiroko's life is empty of everything that makes a life worth living, and kindness from Shiina seems to be the only thing keeping her together. But--like Shiina, Akira, and several other youths, many of whom are just as emotionally unhinged as Hiroko herself--shy Hiro possesses a monstrous force locked away in her closet: a massive alien shadow dragon whose powers she simply cannot ignore any longer. In a nearly unspeakable turn of events, the angry, suffering little girl decides that the only option is a despicable revenge.

Unsurprisingly, her quest of vengeance ends in unmatched bloodshed that, despite six more volumes afterwards, remains THE number one most terrifying event in the entire manga. I don't get scared that easily even for someone outside of Shadow Star's target audience, and I personally thought the same scene in the anime DVDs was much more petrifying than even the uncensored Japanese version of this storyline, but that doesn't mean it's in any way dethroned as the champion of horror sights for all dozen of the Shadow Star graphic novels. You know that the school bullies are going to get a punishment from the moment Hiroko first gives in to their demands, but that in no way dulls down how turbulent and broken Hiro is as she passes judgment over those who made her life a living hell. This volume will make you afraid of the dark. Kitoh's art style, with its sharpness and attention to detail as well as stick-thin characters who look as mentally crooked as they act, only adds to the madness as he shows you no more than what you absolutely must see to understand. Fanservice is definitely not on the menu.

If you have been following this series for the first six parts, and can tolerate a spat of nothing but terror and anguish for over 100 pages as well as some rather mature and graphic imagery, then, by all means, do. Nothing we've seen before can match the grisly brilliance of book seven. Just make sure to keep the Prozac close at hand.

Yes, this is the one that covers the last three episodes of the anime. The sexual violence has been toned down for the English version, and while I'm usually anti-censorship this once I don't mind. I bought it in the original Japanese because Dark Horse takes so long to publish, and this volume actually made me sick to my stomach. Not a happy bit of manga. Fascinating, thrilling and utterly addictive, but not happy.

For the squeamish: This book contains major events that shatter Shiina and Akira's lives, but we don't learn anything new about Satomi and her freaky friends or any of the other mysterious characters. I suppose you could skip this book if you got someone to tell you the spoilers.

If you've come this far, you know that Shadow Star (Narutaru in Japan) is not your normal manga. Firstly, the art is a departure from the current, rather frantic style of most of the stuff we get in the west - no speed lines or big eyes here. In fact, quite the opposite. Kitoh's style is sharp, even sparse at times, though he has an eye for background and mechanical detail that resolutely grounds his fantastical creations in the real world. It helps that Dark Horse have stuck to a remarkably high-quality paper and printing for this series that really does justice to the quality and style of the art. It is the plot and themes that really set this manga apart, however.

You know it's dark, you know there's an overarching sense of menace, you know the characters are not entirely stable, but you are not prepared for this volume. Personally, I tried to make it last as long as posible knowing that it had been a year since the last one, but I couldn't, and I was an emotional wreck when I reached what I thought was the ending - then I got hit again by the last two pages. This is simultaneously the best and the most horrible installment so far, and the worst part is that I now have to wait for the next one.

My wife is a psychologist and I took this book from her to read. As a lay person, I now have a deeper understanding of this topic. It was accesible and informational and academic and intelligent at the same time. The ties to history and pop culture make the book timeless and relevant.

As a surviver of childhood abuse, i found this book to be very helpful and insightful. Recovery from such horrendous acts is very painful. Mr. Weiner provides excellent methods to continue with recovery and in a less painful yet productive means. I will forever be greatful to him for his insight and assistance to those of us with backgorounds of this nature. His understanding of MPD/DID was most touching. Thank you Mr. Weiner!

The book is thoughtful and sensitive, and at the same time thorough and informational. I personally went through recovery for childhood sexual abuse and feel that the process is clearly and efffectively outlined. It was most interesting to read the comparison to the Stephen King novel. And some of the imagery in the book is so vivid and poignant. The little girl on the swing...what an image.