I have found that i don't have as much time as i would like to browse through book shops any more. I have however found that i am buying more and more books over the internet. I have personally used Amazon Books and found them to be brilliant. The service is good and quick, and the choice of books excellent. Even when i have had to order from the USA i have found that they are quick and reliable.
I have included a selection of books that have been recommended by people on the Survive mailing list, personal recommendations from friends, and those that i have read and found to be helpful and i think others would enjoy too.
Ordering is easy, just follow the onscreen instructions. If a book you require is not on the recommended books you can always browse the whole of the Amazon Books catalogue using the search engine and links to Amazon.co.uk (here in the UK) or to Amazon.com in the USA.
If there are any books that i have not included that you would like to
recommend please mail me and i will add them. Happy Reading!
The PTSD Workbook
Mary-Beth Williams and Soili Poijula
In The PTSD Workbook, two psychologists gather together techniques and interventions used by PTSD
experts from around the world to offer trauma survivors the most effective tools available to conquer
their most distressing trauma-related symptoms. Readers determine the type of trauma they experienced,
identify their symptoms, and learn the most effective techniques and interventions they can use to
overcome them.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£8.99)
The Survivor's Guide: To Recovery from Rape and Sexual Abuse
Robert A. Kelly and Fay Maxted
The Survivor’s Guide is the result of an ambitious campaign by a team of volunteers at UK support
group RoSA (Rape or Sexual Abuse Project) who were frustrated by the lack of self-help literature
for abuse victims worldwide.
It was written and produced with the backing of professional women’s organisation Soroptimist
International of Rugby, UK, who fundraised tirelessly for a year to get the project off the ground.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£15.99)
The Rape Recovery Handbook: Step-by-Step Help for Survivors of Sexual Assaults
Aphrodite Matsakis
The author Aphrodite Matsakis also wrote I Can't Get Over It, which is another one of our
recommended books. The book aims to help rape victims cope with the reality of the experience
and deal with the aftermath of conflicting and debilitating feelings.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£8.30)
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: The Invisible Injury
David Kinchin
A former sufferer of PTSD, David Kinchin tells his story and those of
ten others. He describes in plain language what it is like to suffer
from PTSD and explains all the complications the disorder can include.
He gives advice on seeking help and the treatments available. Now
David Kinchin shares his knowledge and insight in a unique book by
a former PTSD sufferer for PTSD sufferers, showing you how to
recover and put the experience behind you.
Sorry this book is out of print at the moment.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£13.95)
Startling Beauty: My Journey from Rape to Restoration
Heather Gemmen
"Does everyone else’s life appear perfect? Does no one understand your heartache?
So many of us have profound stories of ugliness and pain that keep us from connecting
with others. As you listen to my story, I pray that you will be feel that you can hope
again." - Heather Gemmen
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.64)
The PTSD Workbook
Mary-Beth Williams, Soili Poijula
This workbook offers the most effective tools and strategies -
recommended by PTSD experts worldwide - to help readers conquer
trauma-related symptoms. Readers determine the type of
trauma they experienced, identify their symptoms, and learn
the most effective techniques and interventions they can use
to overcome them.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£13.49)
Lucky
Alice Sebold
One reader says "The details of this gruesome attack on the author of
this book are so disturbing, but yet her story compels you to read on
because you want her to find justice. It's a must read because the
reality is each of us will know someone who has been in a similarly
horrible position"
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£3.99)
I Can't Get Over It
Aphrodite Matsakis
This grounbreaking work is the first book to guide readers through
the healing process of recovering from PTSD one step at a time.
It helps survivors cope with memories and emotions; identify
triggers that reactivate traumatic stress; relieve secondary
wounding and gain a sense of empowerment and hope.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£14.24)
Recovering from Rape
Linda A Ledray
Provides psychological and practical guidance to women coping with the
aftermath of rape.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£7.69)
Trust After Trauma: A Guide to Relationships for
Survivors and Those Who Love Them
Aphrodite Matsakis
Examines the feelings of loneliness and mistrust suffered by trauma
survivors, explores how these feelings affect personal relationships,
and suggests ways of negotiating and coping with the trauma for
improved relationships
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£8.69)
Strong at the Broken Places: Overcoming the
Trauma of Childhood Abuse
By Linda T Sanford
This challenges the idea that childhood victims are caught forever in
the vicious circle of abuse. In 17 years of working with victims
and survivors, the author discovered that most survivors break
free from the patterns of victimization. Over 20 people were
interviewed in depth for this book
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.74)
Overcoming Traumatic Stress
Claudia Herbert and Ann Wefmore
Jo says:I
bought this book on Monday, and it's great! It covers PTSD,
insomnia, flashbacks, triggers, self-hatred, blame, guilt, anger,
intimacy etc etc. Some of it was so true to the way I felt, it
hurt. It was like for the first time, I realised I was "normal" in
feeling that way. It was as if the authors had been in my mind!
Anyway, it has loads of things in there to help combat, and work
through the external probelms we have (flashbacks, nightmares etc)
and the internal (guilt, blame, anger etc.)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£7.49)
Safe Passage to Healing: A Guide for Survivors
of Ritual Abuse
Chrystine Oksana
One survivor said: I am very grateful to have had this book on
my own journey of healing from satanic ritual abuse. It was helpful
and affirming. Many intelligent and caring adults struggle
enormously with satanic ritual abuse issues
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£21.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($7.59)
Verbal Abuse: Survivors Speak Out
Patricia Evans
The Verbally Abusive Relationship is a guiding light, bringing clarity and
insight to confusing and oblique patterns as well as useful guidelines for
recovery in the contextof personal relationships.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£5.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($8.76)
Depression
Dorothy Rowe
Recommended by Sue. Dorothy Rowe gives us a way of understanding depression,
allowing us to take charge of our lives. She shows it is not an illness
requiring drugs but a defence we use to hold
ourselves together when we feel our lives falling apart
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£10.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($13.59)
The Other Side of Silence : Women Tell About Their
Experiences With Date Rape
Christine Carter
This book is recommended on the subject of date rape and should be read by
all young girls in high school and/or college to think about this most
prevalent form of rape in our society. It is also very important for boys
to read this book to explore their
(mis)conceptions about sexuality and resistance by women.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£10.89)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($13.97)
Telling : A Memoir of Rape and Recovery
Patricia Weaver Francisco
Recommended by a survivor. I just wanted to forward on a book
recommendation. After 20 years of healing
from a rape that happened when I was 13 it was this book that put it all in
perspective. I highly recommend survivors, their loved ones, familles.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£12.00)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($16.10)
Defending Ourselves: A Guide to Prevention, Self-Defense, and Recovery
from Rape
Rosalind Wiseman
A straightforward approach to handling date rape instructs readers on how
to understand the psychological makeup of potential attackers and practice
actual defense tactics while offering
advice on what to do after a physical assault.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.74)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($9.60)
Surviving the Silence : Black Women's Stories of Rape
Charlotte Pierce-Baker
Pierce-Baker, a survivor herself, places rape within a historical and
cultural context, explaining the shroud of silence that surrounds it within
the black community. She allows women to speak about their experiences as
informed by their race and gender identities, weaving
together their stories with her own.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£11.18)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($16.77)
Life and How to Survive It
Robin Skynner
Recommended by Sue. This is an investigative book which extends study beyond the family circle
to relationships and group interaction in life outside it. It acts as a map
to guide people through their everyday lives and help them retain their
individuality while co-operating in joint endeavours.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.39)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($12.00)
After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back
Nancy Venable Raine
Maple says: I really loved this book. She was a victim of stranger
rape and I found that she expressed so much of what I was feeling.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£18.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($16.10)
Free of the Shadows : Recovering from Sexual
Violence
By Karen Adams and Jennifer Fay
Maple says: Of all the books that I have read, this one was the best.
I found that it was very helpful in explaining the aftermath. But I
also found that it wasn't graphic, like a lot, it didn't trigger
flashbacks or panic attacks. It also has sections for friends and
family, I know that my partner found it invaluable in learning how
to support me and gave information on how to take care of himself
at the same time. I have recommended it several people. I think
that every survivor should have a copy.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.92)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($10.36)
The Courage to Heal Workbook : For Women and Men
Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
By Laura Davis
Laura Davis has created an inspiring, innovative, in-depth workbook
for all women and men suffering from the effects of childhood sexual
abuse. Some parts are also very relevant to rape survivors.
Recommended by Cassandra.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£22.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($18.00)
Allies in Healing : When the Person You Love Was
Sexually Abused As a Child, a Support Book
By Laura Davis
Maple says: This is a book that was recommended to my partner. We didn't end up buying it as it is mainly about child abuse. I am sure that it probably would have been helpful, but at the time he was looking for something rape specific. Many people have recommended it as being the 'bible' for significant others.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£16.00)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($12.00)
Little Girl Lost : One Woman's Journey Beyond Rape
By Leisha Joseph, Deborah Bruner Mendenhall
After an abusive childhood and brutal rape, her strong faith allowed Leisha Joseph to heal the wounds that could have crippled her soul.
Robin says: another good book that gives you someone to relate to.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£10.67)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($13.97)
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
By Susan Jeffers
A Dynamic and inspirational book is filled with concrete
techniques to turn passivity into asssertiveness. Dr. Susan Jeffers, teaches you how to stop negative thinking patterns and reeducate your mind to think more positively. You will learn: the vital 10-Step Positive Thinking Process; how to risk a little every day; how to turn every decision into a No-Lose situation, and much more. A favourite of
many on Survive!
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£4.88)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($10.36)
I Never Called It Rape : The Ms. Report on
Recognizing,Fighting, and Surviving Date and Aquaintance Rape
By Robin Warshaw
Drawing on survey results and first-person accounts, a journalist
explores the issue of date rape, explaining what it is, why it happens,
and its devastating impact on victims, in a guide that includes
helpful resources and counseling and support programs. It has now
been completely updated to include the most recent studies,
issues, current events, and controversies. It is an American book
but a lot of the information is applicable to anyone who has been
raped.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.29)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($10.40)
Games People Play
By Eric Berne
A very useful manual for maintaining rational discussion in all
interpersonal situations. Recommneded by Sue.
More
details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.74)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($8.00)
Ghosts in the Bedroom : A Guide for Partners of Incest Survivors
By Ken Graber
Ken Graber's Ghosts in the Bedroom has been reccommended for partners of incest survivors. It is concise and well organized,
and it raises and addresses questions that those who love, or are in a relationship with,a survivor need answered. It's also for those men and woman who are themselves victims/survivors of sexual abuse
and incest.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£11.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($7.16)
The Scarred Soul : Understanding & Ending Self-Inflicted Violence
By Tracy Alderman
This step-by-step guide is designed to help victims of self-inflicted violence understand why they feel the need to hurt themselves and to take steps to change their behaviour. Alderman helps them to explore the reasons for self-abuse and its impact on their lives, and how to break the habit, either through psychotherapy or on their own.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£12.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($11.16)
There Is Nothing Wrong With You: Regardless of What
You Were Taught to Believe
By Cheri Huber, June Shiver
Don't let the title of this book put you off! Huber shows how we are indeed our own worst critic but we can also be our own best
friend. When we stop trying to change what we think is wrong with us, we learn who we really are and that person is good.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£3.62)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($9.60)
Anxiety and Panic Attacks : Their Cause and Cure :The
Five-Point Life-Plus Program for Conquering Fear
By Robert Handly, Pauline Neff
A book that reasures that just becuase you have panic attacks doesn't mean you are going
crazy. Lots of helpful realistic supportive advice
written by someone who has experienced them himself. Step by step guide to
conquering panic attacks for good.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£3.38)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($6.99)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
By Maya Angelou
In this first of five volumes of autobiography, poet Maya Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment,
frustration, tragedy, and finally hard-won independence. Highly recommended by Sue and Tiana.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£5.99)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($4.40)
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
By John Grey
Although this is not really anything to do with healing from rape or abuse, it is in my oppinion an invaluable book about relationships
between men and women. It explains the differences between the way a woman handles a problem and communicates her needs and the way a man handles it a completely different way. While a woman's self worth is based on relationships and the need to feel loved, a man needs to solve problems on theeir own for their own self esteem. Recommended by tiana: one of her most consulted and well thumbed books!
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£7.79)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($)
Here I Am : Finding Oneself Through Healing and
Letting Go
By Mark Linden O'Meara
Jan Stickney, Issues Magazine writes:
One of the most comprehensive books I've read dealing with our
emotional states. Discover what masks you wear to avoid emotions,
how to begin the healing process and what to be aware of along
the way.
More details and ordering info from Amazon.co.uk (£6.92)
More details and ordering info from Amazon.com ($12.95)
Amazon.co.uk has a catalogue with almost all British books in print,
if you want to search for any other titles (you can
order them online, as well as the ones listed above.)
Amazon.com has a catalogue with almost all US books in print. You can search for any other US titles and you can
order them online.
Last updated December 2007