Best of
Abuse

2004

Flip Side of the Game


Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker - 2004
    Born on the flip side of the hustler's game, she is the child of a fifteen year old drug addict who places her in a trash dump, with a note that read, please forgive me... my mother`s only fifteen... Well that is of little consolation to Vera as she lives her gold diggin' life full speed ahead, only to come to a crashing halt when she realizes that she can run but she can't hide; and facing up to the Flip Side of the Game is the only way she will survive.

Trouble Don't Last Always


Francis Ray - 2004
    She points her twelve-year-old car east, hoping to find a new beginning. When her car breaks down in Louisiana, Lilly finds unexpected employment as the caregiver for a wealthy neurosurgeon named Adam Wakefield, who lost his sight in a recent carjacking. At first, this handsome, brooding man reminds her too much of the angry husband she left behind and she reminds him of how far he has fallen from the self-assured man he once was. But as the two spend long days together, an unexpected bond develops---one that will be deeply tested. For Lilly must confront her violent husband before she can ever hope to move on and truly discover a second chance at life and love.This stunning story is gripping and unforgettable tale told with Francis Ray's trademark emotion and passion.

When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Heal the Wounds of Witnessing Abuse


Lundy Bancroft - 2004
    Here, a counselor reveals how abusers interact with and manipulate children-and how mothers can help their children recover from the trauma of witnessing abuse.This book, the first ever of its kind, shows mothers how to:Protect children and help them heal emotionallyProvide love, support, and positive role models, even in the midst of abuseIncrease their chances of winning custodyHelp their kids feel good about themselves

A Beautiful Child


Matt Birkbeck - 2004
    Serving as a Lt. Colonel in the ROTC, she earned a full scholarship to Georgia Tech University to study aerospace engineering. She was the ultimate girl next door, sweet, generous, and well-adjusted. But Sharon had disturbing secrets so shocking and unique, they took more than a decade to unravel...This is the horrifying true story of a mysterious young woman caught in the violent web of the murderous fugitive she called her father—and a heartrending testament to the profound courage and perseverance of one woman trapped in the grip of extreme evil

Fatwa: Living with a Death Threat


Jacky Trevane - 2004
    It was love at first sight, and swept away by her infatuation, she married him before returning to England with her parents. Returning to Cairo against her parents' advice, but full of hopes and plans, Jacky's dream turned into a nightmare. During the next six years she suffered non-stop physical and emotional abuse. She had to escape with her two little girls, but it was not easy. Even now, Jacky is living in the shadow of a death threat and has to protect herself and her daughters minute by minute, day by day.

The Emotionally Unavailable Man/Woman: A Blueprint for Healing


Patti Henry - 2004
    It details why men become emotionally unavailable and specifies the actions that can be taken by both men and women to realize improvement.The Emotionally Unavailable Man helps men get their "power," stop avoiding difficult situations, calm their partner's anger, learn how to say "No," set and maintain appropriate boundaries, be more effective at work, increase and enhance the sex in their relationship, and feel personal freedom and happiness.It helps women determine if their partner is capable of being emotionally available, decide what they can -- and cannot -- do to help, discover how to lose their anger, exercise mutuality and safety, learn how to recognize and confront their own resistances, restore hope about long-term change, and gain clarity about their future.

In Her Presence: A Husband's Dirty Secret


Nancy Weaver - 2004
    Like the Potter with the clay, your life can be made whole again. The true story: The surreal, gripping saga of a young, desperate, rich African American mother and her children, and her courageous teenage daughter in the south in the 1950s is inspired by real life events.Maebelle Hawkins, a young, pretty divorcee, moves to Derriene Crossing with her heart set on finding the perfect husband. When Rufus Poygoode, a well-to-do-, good-looking farmer enraptures her heart with a proposal of marriage, she feels her life has come full circle.But it is a marriage awash in deception. A few weeks after their union, her fantasy word crashes and burns. She shivers when Rufus Poygoode places the cold black metal gun against her nose and calls her Olga Berry, the name of his surrogate mother, for whom he carries a vendetta. No amount of defense convinces him she is not the estranged daughter of his surrogate mother. Crushed by cruel and unusual hatred, Maebelle Hawkins resigns herself to a mere state of simply existing. Then their daughter Tara Poygoode grows up. Tara Poygoode is pleased that she has her mother and father's good looks. But she hates him for the humiliation, cruelty, and power he wields over her large family. When she learns her father won't allow her to attend college, that he is intent on tying her life to the land forever, she vows to take control over her destiny, and rescue her family.

Healing from the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Journey for Women


Karen A. Duncan - 2004
    This book by a family therapist shares stories from 18 women abused as children, explaining that healing can occur at any stage of life, and that healing, itself, occurs in stages. The author offers guidance to recognize the long-lingering potential affects of childhood sexual abuse including depression, anxiety, dissociation, and chronic shock, and she explains steps to take for recovery. Also presented are letters from women who have healed or are in recovery.Sexual abuse by men, juveniles, and female perpetrators is discussed, as is how children may act out the abusive behavior taught by perpetrators. The incidence of abuse by family members is also addressed. Duncan explains the dual dilemma--moral and legal--that women face in exposing a sexual perpetrator within the family when not protected by the legal system due to statutes of limitations. She also discusses controversial topics including false memory and disclosure of memory to the perpetrator.