Lessons from a Dead Girl


Jo Knowles - 2007
    For Laine, knowing what really happened and the awful feeling that she is, in some way, responsible set her on a journey of painful self-discovery. Yes, she wished for this. She hated Leah that much. Hated her for all the times in the closet, when Leah made her do those things. They were just practicing, Leah said. But why did Leah choose her? Was she special, or just easy to control? And why didn’t Laine make it stop sooner? In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laine is left to explore the devastating lessons Leah taught her, find some meaning in them, and decide whether she can forgive Leah and, ultimately, herself.

THE NARCISSIST'S SECRETS: (Know the things they don't want you to know!)


Leyla Loric - 2016
    Never, ever want to be drawn into a narcissistic relationship AGAIN! learn the secrets that narcissists play on to lure you in and BREAK THE CYCLE forever. 2. People who find themselves trapped in a narcissistically abusive relationship - if you simply knew the TRUTH of what was really going on in your relationship the narcissist knows very well you would be out of the door like a shot! they are praying you NEVER find out the secrets kept in this book that hold good hearted people in emotionally abusive relationships 3. People who want to WALK AWAY for ever and never look back! Isn't it an irritating burden to even after having gone through the drama and upheaval of a break up with a narcissist (not to mention the expense, emotional, financial and time-wise) to have to carry them around in your head and your heart every day? The narcissist would hate for you to be shown the mechanics of why and HOW the narcissist makes you feel this way so that you can undo it and walk away FOREVER. Looking for Revenge? Find out what makes you desire narcissistically abusive relationships, heal it, grow in self-awareness and strength and MOVE ON to a better life, leaving them in the dust. Nothing is more painful to a narcissist than to LOSE CONTROL over a victim and be discarded in the past by a victim who was not only "not crushed" by the break up but actually improved as a person as a result! This will have the narcissist frothing at the mouth with rage.

Sybil in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings


Patrick Suraci - 2011
    Based on taped conversations that Patrick Suraci had with Shirley Mason (known to the world as “Sybil”) from 1993 until her death in 1998, the book reveals the untold story of Sybil’s life.This new information about Sybil’s early years, her psychoanalysis, and the integration of her sixteen personalities has never before been disclosed to the public.One hundred reproductions of paintings from the Sybil years are presented and interpreted. Most of them have never been seen by the general public.Previously unreleased photographs of Shirley Mason at various ages are presented. Shirley’s cousin also provided Dr. Suraci with letters written by Shirley. Included is a photograph of Shirley with her painting at The National Arts Club on Gramercy Park where she won the student competition while attending Columbia University and undergoing psychoanalysis in New York in 1955.Sybil’s story is very much alive today. CBS aired a new TV movie on June 7, 2008, based on Flora Rheta Schreiber’s book, “SYBIL”, starring Jessica Lange as “Dr. Wilbur” and Tammy Blanchard as “Sybil”.Her story is so compelling because of the rarity of her complete integration of all sixteen personalities. For almost half her life she lived under the shadow of multiple personality symptoms such as black outs, fugue state and amnesia. After her cure the second part of her life was thrust into glaring light of reality of the world. Although she was known to almost everyone as the troubled Sybil of the book and movie, she was known to her colleagues as a remarkable teacher, a gifted artist, a devoted friend and a generous spirit. New details about the nature of Shirley’s recovery and treatment as written in Flora Schreiber’s book are uncovered. The reader will also discover the remarkable friendship and relationship that Shirley had with her former therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur. This relationship resulted in Shirley taking care of Dr. Wilbur after she had a stroke. It only ended with Dr. Wilbur’s death.“SYBIL in her own words” explores the continuing controversy about dissociative identity disorder, its cures, its causes and its place in modern popular culture, in no small part due to the overwhelming popularity of Sybil’s enduring story. It’s a book about why these subjects - Sybil and Dissociative Identity Disorder - continue to intrigue us, and what they say about our own nature, our own place in the world, our own society.

The Apology


Eve Ensler - 2019
    Sexually and physically abused by her father, Eve has struggled her whole life from this betrayal, longing for an honest reckoning from a man who is long dead. After years of work as an anti-violence activist, she decided she would wait no longer; an apology could be imagined, by her, for her, to her. The Apology, written by Eve from her father's point of view in the words she longed to hear, attempts to transform the abuse she suffered with unflinching truthfulness and compassion and an expansive vision for the future. Remarkable and original, The Apology is an acutely transformational look at how, from the wounds of sexual abuse, we can begin to re-emerge and heal. It is revolutionary, asking everything of each of us: courage, honesty, and forgiveness.

We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out


Annie E. Clark - 2016
    student activists are exposing a pervasive cover-up of sexual violence on college campuses. Every day more survivors come forward. But other survivors choose not to. We Believe You elevates the stories the headlines about this issue have been missing--more than 30 experiences of trauma, healing and everyday activism, representing a diversity of races, economic and family backgrounds, gender identities, immigration statuses, interests, capacities and loves.More than 1 in 5 women and 5 percent of men are sexually assaulted at college, a shocking status quo that might have stayed largely hidden and unaddressed but for the two authors of We Believe You. In 2013, Annie E. Clark and Andrea L. Pino, then 23 and 20, building on the work of earlier activists, outed themselves as assault survivors and filed a federal complaint against the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) for mishandling such crimes; within a month, the U.S. government began to investigate UNC. Within a year, dozens of colleges were under federal investigation.But Clark and Pino rightly see themselves as two among many. Students from every kind of college and university--large and small, public and private, highly selective and less so?are sounding alarms and staking claims to justice by filing complaints, by pressing charges, and by simply living beyond the effects of assault and the betrayals of their schools. A sampling of their voices speak out in this book.

What I Never Told You


Louise Mullins - 2017
     Kate thought she'd never have to set eyes on the man she blames for ruining her childhood again, but she was wrong. Teresa has always stood by her son, believing in his innocence, but the evidence is compelling. When a trial date looms a shocking event turns both their worlds upside-down, forcing them to confront their darkest fears. Can Kate accept the past she's tried hard to forget and is forgiveness possible for Teresa, the mother of the man painted as a monster?

Push


Sapphire - 1996
    But when Precious, pregnant with a second child by her father, meets a determined and highly radical teacher, we follow her on a journey of education and enlightenment as Precious learns not only how to write about her life, but how to make it her own for the first time.

Leftovers


Laura Wiess - 2008
    In this follow-up to her heartbreaking debut, Such a Pretty Girl, Laura Wiess once again spins a shattering tale of the tragedies that befall young women who are considered society's Leftovers.Blair and Ardith are best friends who have committed an unforgivable act in the name of love and justice. But in order to understand what could drive two young women to such extreme measures, first you'll have to understand why. You'll have to listen as they describe parents who are alternately absent and smothering, classmates who mock and shun anyone different, and young men who are allowed to hurt and dominate without consequence. You will have to learn what it's like to be a teenage girl who locks her bedroom door at night, who has been written off by the adults around her as damaged goods. A girl who has no one to trust except the one person she's forbidden to see. You'll have to understand what it's really like to be forgotten and abandoned in America today.Are you ready?

At the End of the Line


Kathryn Longino - 2014
    Through fourteen years of trouble and heartache from a stagnant domestic life, the struggle for civil rights, and the stigma of interracial relationships, a bond forms between the two that changes both of their lives forever.It’s 1958, a time when women and Negroes are deemed second-class and are being second-guessed, from there arises the perfect storm for change, and the perfect time for an unlikely friendship.Beatrice “Beanie” Peterson, forced to marry at fifteen and live with two sister wives, six children, and an abusive husband twenty years her senior, is looking for a way out. Adeline “Liddie” Garrison, friend of Jack Kennedy, wife of a prominent Boston business man, and resident of Beacon Hill has already found her way in.

Grown


Tiffany D. Jackson - 2020
    Jackson delivers another ripped-from-the-headlines mystery that exposes horrific secrets hiding behind the limelight and embraces the power of a young woman's voice. When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields?Before there was a dead body, Enchanted’s dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey’s charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he’s dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.

Healing the Wounded Heart: The Heartache of Sexual Abuse and the Hope of Transformation


Dan B. Allender - 2016
    Now, more than twenty-five years later, Allender has written a brand-new book on the subject that takes into account recent discoveries about the lasting physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual ramifications of sexual abuse. With great compassion Allender offers hope for victims of rape, date rape, incest, molestation, sexting, sexual bullying, unwanted advances, pornography, and more, exposing the raw wounds that are left behind and clearing the path toward wholeness and healing. Never minimizing victims' pain or offering pat spiritual answers that don't truly address the problem, he instead calls evil "evil" and lights the way to renewed joy. Counselors, pastors, and friends of those who have suffered sexual harm will find in this book the deep spiritual guidance they need to effectively minister to the sexually broken around them. Victims themselves will find here a sympathetic friend to walk alongside them on the road to healing.

Finding Angela Shelton: The True Story of One Woman's Triumph Over Sexual Abuse


Angela Shelton - 2008
    It is the journey of a young woman who discovers herself in the stories of other women who share her same name and coincidentally share experiences of violence and abuse that plagued her own childhood. Through her physical journey across the country she is thrust into her own emotional journey. She embraces each woman she meets, is strengthened by their connections, confronts the father that molested her, and ultimately finds faith, divine purpose, and wholeness.

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture


Roxane GayLisa Mecham - 2018
    Cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay has edited a collection of essays that explore what it means to live in a world where women are frequently belittled and harassed due to their gender, and offers a call to arms insisting that "not that bad" must no longer be good enough.

The Fear of the Blow: A Young Woman's Gut-Wrenching True Story of Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Alcoholism and Redemption


Jena Parks - 2017
    A true tale of wickedness, despair, and redemption. Not to be missed. Born into a Dark and Secretive World of Domestic Violence ”What kind of life is this you live? Can you remember even one day you didn’t go to bed afraid and wake up afraid?” These are the words Jena Parks says, looking in the mirror as a child. Imagine being a child and every day a desperate struggle to survive. This was the life Jena endured from birth until the day she escaped the living nightmare of her father’s abuse. In The Fear of the Blow, Jena tells her candid personal story of the cruelty, abuse, and terror her father inflicted upon her, her brother, and her mother. She provides an insider perspective on the horrors of domestic violence and child abuse that inform and inspire the reader to help those who struggle. Unthinkable Horrors - a True-Life Story From the opening passages, Parks tells us of being witness to spousal abuse as her father would hit and kick her mother. She then begins to recount stories of her father’s “games” in which he would routinely nearly strangle his children. Verbal and physical beatings were a daily occurrence. Jena lived in terror of her father’s rage, often made worse by his alcoholism. She tells of the delight he would take in threatening to kill her or her mother. How Could This Kind of Domestic Abuse Continue Unchallenged? Parks helps the reader to understand how domestic violence can take root and go unchallenged for years - often until too late. She reminds us that child abuse, spousal abuse, and domestic violence thrive in silence - and that they form the most secretive and horrific epidemics known today. It is through educating ourselves about the reality of domestic violence that we can gain insight into the extensive and crippling effects on the children who are born into and raised inside of that dark world. And this empowers us to speak up and take action to help those in need. The Fear of the Blow is sure to break your heart, open your mind, and inspire courage and faith. Join the Fight to Raise Awareness Jena Parks is a committed to raising awareness about the prevalence of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse. She has written The Fear of the Blow in the hope of empowering others to speak up and to find a safe way out before it's too late. Because Child Abuse and Domestic Violence thrive in the silence please join Jena on her mission to shine a light on this epidemic. The only way we can stop it is to reveal it, to stand up and tell the truth, tell our stories and create real change in a still broken system that traps so many helpless women and children inside this Russian roulette life. Jena’s experiences expose the extreme cruelty and wickedness of which some are capable, but also points you to the place where one can always find hope and a safe harbor. Click the Buy button on this page to get your copy today.

Rise: A Memoir


Rise Myers - 2016
    It was as if her mother knew that Risé was not meant to be written into the family’s tragedies. In fact, from a young age Risé found a way to rise above the chaos, abuse, and molestation of her childhood, eventually escaping the weight of her family, and learning to love and believe in herself. This story is a testament to her deep determination and innate courage.