Victims Books

I have read MANY books on child abuse and on long term consequences such as PTSD in children and adults however the Courage to Speak is one of the BEST books I have ever read. I mean, I cannot express just how many books I have read on abuse.. even the Courage to heal which I did not like and found extremely triggering but I loved THis book so much that I'm writing my first review ever here. It was passionate, true, and just beautiful to not feel so alone in the horrible experience of being a 'survivor' of child abuse and also of having a best friend with DID who died as a result of it.. that is.. suicide of one of her parts... that is how I see it as Murder by her abusers .. murder of her mind and body that was repeatedly abused... and in my own lesser abuse, I have found it hard to find books that I could relate with. Most are either too extreme or too basic... and while this book has very severe cases, in those cases, I find myself. I just found myself here and even recently told my therapist about this book and how good it was for me.. how it spoke to me as a feminist, a scholar, a future therapist, a woman and a survivor of child abuse.

Finding Courage to Speak by Dr. Paige Alisen is a ground breaking work bridging the fields of psychology, Women's Studies, social science, and "self help." The author writes with tremendous insight and with her own courage about an issue that envelopes our society and is, yet, rarely addressed so openly. Dr. Alisen's work will reach scholars, students, and practioners and is accessible to survivors of childhood abuse. Unlike other work on the issue of child abuse, Dr. Alisen examines the ways in which severe childhood trauma is dealt with by victims through dissociative identity disorder and multiple personality disorders. It contributes greatly to our understanding of the ways in which our society facilitates harms against women and children.

Stephen Mertz follows his excellent "Night Wind" with this sequel which favors the viewer with further character development of the primary people in the story. The pace continues to pick up steadily the farther the story goes. Mertz combines a sharp writing style with a nail-biter of a plot.

In Devil Creek, New Mexico two years have passed since divorced teacher Robin Curtis and her then twelve years old son Paul survived a serial killer and supernatural happenings. Since then the two Curtis have recovered their equilibrium and Robin married widower Clarion owner Mike Landware.

After a three year absence from his son's life, Robin's vicious ex husband Jeff Lovechio arrives from Chicago as the project manager at the Sunrise Ridge project. Jeff has hit man Domino plant evidence that Mike is not a good guy; Robin begins to question whether her spouse could have killed his first wife who died in an unsolved homicide in Albuquerque at a time her son acts strange and not because of raging hormones. An ancient sprit, Greywolf has taken control of Paul at times awaiting the confrontation with his eternal enemy Ataka. The supernatural has returned as an out of control forest fire threatening the town leaving Robin to contend with this and her ex and perhaps her second husband by herself.

Though readers at times will feel overwhelmed (like the heroine) with all that is going on, DEVIL CREEK is a fine paranormal crime thriller. The story line combines a professional hit, a campaign that Bush and Kerry would appreciate to destroy Mike, and two Indian spirits possessing humans for a final confrontation between them. Robin keeps the plot glued together as the center providing fans with a quality read.

Harriet Klausner

Karyn and Jace Morgan were very much in love and totally delighted with their two-year-old son Sam but their marriage crumbled when their child died in a car accident while Karyn was driving. Jace spends his nights getting drunk and holding his feelings to himself. Karyn tries to move on by visiting Sam's grave. In a drunken stupor Jace blames Sam's death on his wife because he believes she was driving too fast on a stormy night: Karyn kicks him out.

Although both love each other, neither knows how to find their way back to each other. When Karyn sees Sam in his bed, she believes she saw a ghost. She learns she is pregnant but doesn't tell Jace and that is when her late grandmother Joline Wetherford comes to tell Karyn that Sam sent her to plead with her to try to save her marriage. Jace has a hard time believing that Sam and Joline appeared to Karyn. Now that Karyn is ready to take Jace back, she know he will resist when he learns she is pregnant but didn't tell him.

Rachel Carrington has written a very intense and deep family drama with paranormal "marriage counselors" that has some light-hearted moments but is not a typical romance because it deals with a broken relationship and their way back to one another. Readers will cry for them, laugh with them and hope they come to terms with their feelings and grief. This is a potent reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

Within the warmth of God's pure light, a child's spirit seek forth the night. Listen momma, please, don't cry, for children never truly die. Hand in hand in God's vast grace, contentment upon my sunny face. I love you mommy, do not cry, because my spirit does survive, and I will find you again. Love Sam.

Karyn Morgan is involved in a terrible single car accident, which ends the life of her only child, Sam. Almost a year has gone by and her marriage to Dr. Jace Morgan is on the rocks. Jace has not truly come to terms with Sam's death. He blames Karyn for the accident that ended Sam's precise life. This is tearing apart a wonderful five-year marriage.

It is after months of separation when something strange happens, Karyn's deceased grandmother, Jolene Weatherford, appears to her. She has some sage advice for Karyn about her marriage, and Sam. What is going on? Is Karyn losing her mind? Will she and Jace be able to save their marriage? Open the book and become lost within the mystical realm; beyond death, where anything is possible...

With Love From Sam is by author Rachel Carrington. If only mere words could express the emotional magnitude of this book. From the first pages this reader was overwhelmed and ingratiated at the same time. The feelings this book evokes are raw and powerful, yet divinely beautiful. The characters are crisp and alive - fleshed-out and real. The readers will become the story, needing to stay within its commanding flow.

Ms. Carrington's voice is haunting reverent. Perfected upon the pages, in which we read from! Bravo, Ms. Carrington, if ever a writer has emotionally moved this reader, it is you! This is award winning reading material!

Jace and Karyn's love for each other is spellbinding. These two characters are strong, yet their souls are kept mournfully in pain over Sam's death, shattering their spirits. Jace has started drinking to cope, this and his statement that Sam's death is Karyn's fault, tears their marriage apart. With the appearance of Grandma Jolene, whose spectral humor will gives the readers a chuckle, while opening up new doors in the story. Can she help patch up this failing marriage? Has Jolene really been sent by Sam? Can a spirit from beyond really help?

Yes, this book has sadness, but the glorious premise and outcome is what completes and atones this story of undying love. This is a must read paranormal of the year! Step into its light and bask in the beauty of With Love From Sam by author Rachel Carrington. This reviewer highly recommends it!

Reviewed by © Janalee Ruschhaupt, 2005
Courtesy of Love Romances www.loveromances.com

The Forgiving Place: Choosing Peace After Violent Trauma. (book review by Hyatt)
USA Today (Magazine), March, 2002

THE FORGIVING PLACE: Choosing Peace After Violent Trauma BY RICHARD R. GAYTON SELFHELP BOOKS 2001,217 PAGES, $17.95

It is artful to write a book at just the right time. Publishing it electronically a second time is also to be lauded, not only as an art in its own right, but for making it available to a new, eager audience who undoubtedly has been made ready for its timeless content by their own brutal, horrendous experiences. The terror which has impacted most Americans since the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of Sept. 11, for example, multiplies many times the need for such a publication. The author states it succinctly: "Forgiveness means freeing ourselves to stop hating. It has to do with stopping our agony. When we hate others, or ourselves, we feel the pain of hating and we hurt those we love with our unhappiness."

In 1987, Richard R. Gayton's world was ravaged by troubled violence. Two people murdered his wife during a robbery, and they remain in prison. "My hatred and wish for their deaths have been changed to concern for their well being and for the two million other Americans who live behind bars," he writes. The horrors during the destruction of the World Trade Center instilled disgust and vindictiveness in not only family and friends of the guiltless victims, but in the minds and hearts of most Americans, including myself. Some of us still harbor and are consumed by a variety of negative and destructive feelings--all of which can be categorized under the verbal umbrella of "hate."

In strongly recommending this book to such readers, my hope is to lay the groundwork for a transformation similar to that experienced by Gayton--a transition, in my opinion, which represents the highest potential of all humans. Let me assure those readers who tend to look askance at the approaches of "do-gooders" and "social workers" that I fully respect a diversity of views to most issues, and this one may certainly draw significant individual differences. Everybody has the right to think through and come to grips with each particular issue of concern.

An important consideration is that forgiving does not require a particular type of horrific event outside of yourself, such as a murdered wife or innocent victims slaughtered in a bombed building. It may simply relate to "hating" yourself, for what you have done or think you may have done. Forgiving yourself may be one of the hardest acts you've ever attempted. Self-hatred is a terrible feeling that keeps grinding away at the soul. How much punishment have you already meted out to yourself over the past days, months, or years? Peace of mind is elusive when self-hatred lies by its side. The operative term is "release" from hatred. Your new goal, in short, must be to relieve yourself of the stress and strain of hating others as well as yourself. Growing kinder and reducing rage are behaviors that can be learned. The Forgiving Place teaches us how to reach such goals.

Throughout the book's 12 chapters, readers will find guidance and support from well-chosen quotations of brilliant individuals from many walks of life. Gayton's teaching approach is practical and down-to-earth, even as its content often deals with abstract and spiritual ideas and experiences. His writing style is not stilted or brittle. A gentleness always underlies his powerful messages and advice. He is supportive, optimistic, and fully aware of the difficulties of the task. The book moves along at a comfortable pace as it stimulates the potential of readers' thinking, feeling, and believing. Both theistic and atheistic beliefs are acceptable; a sense of spirituality is possible for each.

Throughout the book's 12 chapters, readers will find guidance and support from well-chosen quotations of brilliant individuals from any walks of life. Gayton's teaching approach is practical and down to earth, even as its content often deals with abstract and spiritual ideas and experiences. His writing style is not stilted or brittle. A gentleness always underlies his powerful messages and advice. He is supportive, optimistic, and fully aware of the difficulties of the task. The book moves along at a comfortable pace as it stimulates the potential of readers' thinking, feeling and belieiving. Both theisitic and atheistic beliefs are acceptable; a sense of spirituality is possible for each.

(Found this review in Library Journal) by January Adams ODSI Research Librarian Those who have had a loved one harmed in a violent act face a very different grieving process, according to psychologist Gayton, whose wige was murdered during a robberty at their home. As the author details his reactions to this horrific event, the reader is given an intimate look at his transition from shock and outrage to resolution--a journey that took him five years to complete. Interwoven is Gayton's advice on how readers can work through their own experiences. Although other books exist on how to weather life's tragedies (i.e. Catherine Sander's Surviving Grief and Learning to Live Again), this book is unique in that it concentrates on handling the emotional legacy of intentional and senseless brutality. Given our society's increasing vilence, this work will surely find an expanding audience, recommended for public libraries.

Shame on the Germans, shame on the American government.
This sad tale recounts in vivid terms the horrors of Germany.
Bard relates the horrors of the holocaust with the convincing detail and exhaustive research that ranks with the best of any account of that. The fact that the victims in this case were all Americans trapped in German territory makes the account somehow more personal.

The sadness of American government callousness about these victims is enormous. The fact that greater effort was not made to rescue citizens in the early days is a result of the anti immigration atmosphere of the country. The fact that adequate acknowledgement and compensations was not made to Americans who spent time in concentration and slave camps is tragic and an injustice that Mr. Bard should be commended for exposing.

Mr Bard writes in clear and interesting style, carefully researches his material, and effectively martials his arguments, highly recomended

This book tells the actual way that our soldiers were treated by the German army. My father was held at Berga as a POW. I never thought that the way he behaved towards me and our family was due to the war but now I haave changed my mind. Since his death I have found out through this wonderful book the reasons he hated Rooservelt, Red Cross and why he had a distrust of the dept of vetrans, and the vetrans hospital. I wish that I could get a copy of this book so that my children and grandchildren could know what a high cost their Grandfather paid for thier freedom. The book's only prombem was that it foused only on the Jewish point of view. My Father like many others was non-Jewish and held there too. The rest of the citizens need to know about teir treatment too.

This book was profoundly moving. The selection of poets was discriminating and creative, not your typical roundup of tired holocaust cliches. I highly recommend this book to those poetry lovers who resonate to this theme.

This book has been sadly overlooked in the multitude of similiar compilations about the horrors of the holocaust. These are works of second generation survivors, including the survivors of some the the perpetrators of the Nazi regime.

I highly recommend this book for a number of reasons.
If you are just starting to delve into the knowledge about Guatemala's tragic civil war this is the place to start. What this is is an abridged version of the Human Rights report on the atrocities committed by the Guatemalan army. This book is made up of two things: analysis and then personal testimonies from the victims.

What it does for you is reveal that these crimes committed against the indigenous population went far beyond simply stated genocide and ethnic cleansing. There was far more to the army's tactics than massacre and physical torture.

The crimes against the Mayas were highly psychological and I think that this report reveals that and puts it clearly. This book takes what you might already know about the horror and brings you in deeper. By the time you're done you will have a more clear, more concise, more accurate picture of what was done by the army to not only affect these people but to also keep them in silence about a war that not too many people know about.

It also shows why Guatemala is still so devastated by this war, and what it's going to take to ensure that this history doesn't repeat itself. It's difficult in some places to read, but I think you need to. As you sit in your comfortable house reading it, I think it will change your perception on life. It did mine anyway.

This book is a summarization of a human rights report presented in Guatemala in 1998. Through eye-witness testimony, it outlines the military atrocities committed during Guatemala's Civil War and the effect the war has had on Guatemala's indigenous population.

This edition has been edited from the original lengthy report but retains important testimony in smaller quotes where relevant and offers the reader stark evidence of the massive violence as well as the psychological warfare that was perpetrated on the citizens of Guatemala.

The author of this report was killed two days after it was published. His assailant has not yet been brought to justice. This report is a must read for anyone interested in Human Rights, Native cultures, or the history of Guatemala.

This really is "The Tragical History of Hamlet Prince of Denmark" and not only the Prince but his family. Not only his family but his friends. The tragedy started in the previous generation. Will it end with Hamlet?

Many people are interested in dissecting underlying themes and read more into the characters actions than was probably intended. Many of phrases from Hamlet now challenge Bible for those popular quotes that no one remembers where they came from. The real fun is in just reading the story and as you find that it is not as foreign as you may have thought; you see many characters like these around you today.

A synopsis, Old Hamlet conquered Old Fortinbras seizing Fortinbras' land. Now that Old Hamlet is dead, Young Fortinbras wants his land back and is willing to take it by force. Meanwhile back in Dänemark Prince Hamlet who is excessively grieving the loss of his father, the king, gets an interesting insight from his father's ghost. Looks like Old Hamlet was a victim of a "murder most foul"; it appears his mother and uncle were in cahoots on the murder. On top of that they even get married before the funeral meats are cold.

The story is about Hamlet's vacillating as to what to do about his father's murder. However he does surprise many with his persistence and insight.

You will find many great movie presentations and imitations of the story; this is an intriguing read but was really meant to be watched.

This cover caught my eye, with its snazzy black and red thing. Plus, when I paged through it, I wasn't disappointed. Clear text, useful notes (footnotes, not endnotes), and an informative introduction and following essay. I'm only an amateur, but I would recommend this edition over any of the others I've seen.

There is little need to review the actual text: it is undoubtedly (along with many other of Shakespeare's plays) an extremely influential work of the human mind, and very well may be the best work of literature ever written, period.
The actual presentation and annotation of the text is rather indivdual as well. Whereas most annotated texts of Shakespeare place annotations on the other side of the page, here they are at the bottom. Considering your eyes spend much more time across the lines and down the page, instead of the small amount of time your eyes take jumping to another page, this annotation makes for a very fluid and efficient way of reading. I think this is the best annotation I've ever seen of Shakespeare. The quality isn't just present in form, however: the substitutions and explanations are always accurate and almost never redundant (to the average reader, not the average professor =]).
The introduction by Burton Raffel and the concluding essay by the legendary Harold Bloom only add to the benefits the book presents, and help to understand the book from a wider perspective once your ideas and feelings reconcile with theirs.
All in all, a great product for anyone who loves Shakespeare, literature, or expanding their minds!

Item was delivered during the promised delivery period, no problems at all. Highly recommended.

It's very revealing to read the historical facts behind what we think we know. This book is super thorough and very well researched with thorough notes, but is a really good interesting read as well. I was pretty well shocked when it pointed out the facts about what I had heard in church for years about these women. The author makes the women and their stories come alive. A good read and necessary book for all Christians and interested persons - it's especially a necessary book for Christians.

What a revelation!! I had never given Delilah (for example) a second thought, I always just assumed she was a nasty type, I never even read that part of the Bible for myself to see what it really said about her! This book is an eye opener. I actually enjoyed the second half of the book better than the first half, and was really getting into it, and was sorry when it stopped! It's a fascinating read. The footnotes don't take away from the good read. This is a really interesting book that completely turned around my long-held beliefs and views. I'd never bothered to read it for myself in the Old Testament, and I didn't know the history, I just assumed all those Biblical picture books and what we'd been told as kids were accurate!