Shortlist of Recommended Self-Help Books |
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| The Guide to Self-Help Books |
Recovery from Childhood Abuse |
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Allies in Healing Laura Davis This book focuses on the partners of women sexually abused as children, who are living with the consequences of this abuse. It is written in a question and answer format, dealing with such topics as intimacy, family issues and realistic expectations. Also included are stories of eight couples and their struggles and successes. 1991, HarperPerennial |
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Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison This remarkable novel tells the story of a young girl growing up in Greenville, South Carolina in the midst of a chaotic family. Though surrounded by loving aunts and uncles, she is ridiculed by her mother and sexually abused by her step-father. A powerful and compelling story of creativity and courage as a young girl faces staggering challenges. 1992, Dutton Books |
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Beginning To Heal: A First Book for Men and Women Who Were Sexually Abused as Children Ellen Bass Based on the author’s best seller, The Courage to Heal, this book takes the reader through the key stages of the healing process, from crisis times to breaking the silence, grief, and anger, to resolution and moving on. It includes compelling accounts of survivors’ pain, their strength and their triumphs. 2003, Perennial Currents |
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A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain Marilee Strong Journalist, Marilee Strong, explores the reasons that lead over 2 million Americans to injure themselves regularly and deliberately with such items as knives, razor blades, and broken glass. Most "cutters" claim to use self-injury to distance themselves from pain and rage or to "feel something" after years of abuse have left them emotionally numb. Including powerful first person stories, the author also explores the comprehensive programs and treatments available to those who self-mutilate. 1999, Penguin |
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A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive Dave Pelzer In this first book of a trilogy the author describes his abuse as a child by a sadistic and alcoholic mother. This best-selling book shows a young child’s will to survive and his ability to find love and encouragement from adults outside his family. 1995, Health Communications |
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The Color Purple Alice Walker This searing novel won both the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1983. It is an unforgettable portrait of an abused and uneducated African American woman’s struggle for empowerment and is rich with passion, inspiration and love of life. 2003, Harvest Books |
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The Courage to Heal Ellen Bass and Laura Davis This book is a classic resource for women who were sexually abused as children. Clearly written and filled with writing exercises and self-assessments, it is a reliable guide to the healing process from childhood sexual abuse. Many survivors’ stories are woven into the text. 1994, HarperPerennial |
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The Courage to Heal Workbook: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Laura Davis This is an inspiring book for all women healing from the effects of child sexual abuse. It is in a workbook format, and includes checklists, writing and art projects, open-ended questions and activities which serve to guide the survivor through the healing process. 1990, Perennial Currents |
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Daddy’s Girl Charlotte Vale Allen Allen is a professional writer who was sexually abused by her father from age seven until age seventeen. She struggled with self-loathing and believed herself to be ugly and unlovable. This is a powerful story of courage and healing and gives interesting descriptions of the connection between childhood abuse and adult relationships. 1995, Berkeley |
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The Drama of the Gifted Child: the Search for the True Self Alice Miller This well-known and classic book demonstrates how narcissistic parents unwittingly use their children to meet their own needs, thus negatively affecting the children’s development. By gifted, Miller means sensitive and alert to the needs of others; she believes that the sensitivity and empathy of gifted children predispose them to be used by people with narcissistic needs. This timely book has helped many people reclaim their lost childhoods. 1981, Basic Books This book was a Self-Help Book Pick of the Month! Read David's full Book Review. |
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EMDR: The Breakthrough Therapy For Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma Francine Shapiro and Margot Forrest EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a new nontraditional short-term therapy for treating trauma victims that utilizes rhythmical stimulation such as eye movements or hand taps. Dr. Shapiro, who developed the technique, describes the treatment and how it works. Co-author Forrest presents gripping case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique 2004, Basic Books |
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Father-Daughter Incest Judith Lewis Herman Through an intensive clinical study of forty incest victims Dr. Herman develops a composite picture of the incestuous family. She reviews extensive research literature that demonstrates the validity of incest survivors’ sometimes repressed and recovered memories, and convincingly challenges the rhetoric and methods of the backlash movement against incest survivors, and the concerted attempt to deny the events they find the courage to describe. 2000, Harvard University Press |
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Getting Through the Day: Strategies For Adults Hurt as Children Nancy Napier Napier presents practical approaches to dealing with the long-lasting consequences of childhood abuse, particularly dissociation, or “checking out”. This survival technique helped many children survive overwhelming childhood experiences, but often poses problems in adult life. The book teaches many effective strategies for meeting the demands of adult living while working through the wounds of childhood. 1994, Norton |
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Healing the Incest Wound: Adult Survivors in Therapy Christine Courtois This book presents an encyclopedic overview of the phenomenon of child sexual abuse. It offers a wide range of approaches to the healing process and gives poignant stories of the pain and suffering of persons abused as children. This is a hopeful book filled with valuable information for survivors, family members and professionals. 1988, Norton |
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Healing the Shame That Binds You John Bradshaw This best-selling book focuses on “toxic shame”: the feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and inadequacy that many adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse carry into their adult lives. Bradshaw advocates getting this shame into the open, liberating the inner child, loving the self, awakening spiritually, and dealing more positively with relationships that reinforce the sense of toxic shame. He describes a number of strategies to help individuals move through a crippling sense of shame into greater self-acceptance. 1988, Health Communications |
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Healing the Trauma of Abuse: A Woman’s Workbook Mary Ellen Copeland and Maxine Harris This workbook offers women who have suffered sexual, physical, or emotional abuse crucial skills for coping, self-understanding, and self-care. It includes self-evaluation questionnaires, writing exercises, and a variety of activities and relaxation techniques. Also included are questions to ask a doctor, a personal crisis plan, and a comprehensive list of resources. 2000, New Harbinger |
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Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood Wayne Muller In this remarkable book, Dr. Muller suggests that our woundedness contains powerful resources for healing and spiritual growth. Written with compassion and insight, the book offers exercises and meditations to aid the healing process. 1992, Simon and Schuster |
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The Lost Boy: A Foster Child’s Search for the Love of a Family Dave Pelzer This book, the second in Pelzer’s autobiographical trilogy, describes the author’s nine years as a foster child, moving between foster homes until he finally finds a place in a home that gives him the love he needs. A powerful description of resiliency and strength. 1997, Health Communications |
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A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness Dave Pelzer Dave Pelzer enlisted in the Air Force and served in Operation Desert Storm. He describes coming to terms with his childhood as an adult, making sense of what happened to him and finding ways to move on. He describes his positive relationship with his son and reconciling with his father. Although painful to read, this third volume in his autobiographical trilogy demonstrates that childhood abuse can be survived, that healing can occur, and that the pain and suffering of a terrible childhood can be transformed into a productive and happy life. 2000, Plume |
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Mother-Son Incest: The Unthinkable Broken Taboo Hani Miletski A sex therapist writes from her clinical experience of men who were sexually abused by their mothers. The author addresses this less talked-about side of incest and provides stories of survivors and their healing process. 1999, Safer Society Press |
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Recreating Your Self: Building Self-Esteem Through Imaging and Self-Hypnosis Nancy Napier For people who were emotionally and physically wounded as children, the journey from childhood to adulthood is a constant struggle with shame, self-criticism, and fear. This book shows how to use self-hypnosis to resolve the effects of abuse, to build a healing relationship with the child within and an inspiring one with the future self. The book includes explicit exercises and self-hypnotic scripts, emphasizing self-acceptance, healing old wounds, and getting on with life. 1996, Norton |
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The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence 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 behavior. This self-inflicted pain may be a way of focusing and controlling overwhelming feelings of chaos. It also may serve to free the sexual abuse survivor from the numbness that defends her from the pain of previous abuse. Alderman helps those struggling with self-abuse to explore the reasons for it, understand its impact on their lives, and learn how to break the habit either through psychotherapy or on their own. 1997, New Harbinger |
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The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women Diana Russell This landmark book -- based on a large-scale scientific study -- presents convincing evidence that both the incidents and the consequences of incest have been grossly underestimated. The book makes a persuasive case for an epidemic of abuse on a national scale. Russell also confronts the controversy over false accusations and false memories. 1987, Basic Books |
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Sexual Anorexia: Overcoming Sexual Self-Hatred Patrick Carnes and Joseph Moriarity Sexual anorexia is an extreme fear of sexual intimacy and the obsessive avoidance of sex. The authors examine its causes, often arising from childhood trauma and other forms of abuse and neglect, and then describe concrete tasks and plans for exploring intimacy and restoring healthy sexuality. 1997, Hazelden |
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The Sexual Healing Journey Wendy Maltz This useful book focuses on the ways in which one’s sexuality may be affected by childhood sexual abuse; this is often a cause of sexual difficulties in adult intimate relationships. Maltz suggests helpful exercises and activities to do alone and with one’s partner. Techniques for becoming comfortable with touch and dealing with specific sexual problems are included. 2001, HarperPerennial |
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The Survivor's Guide to Sex: How to Have an Empowered Sex Life After Child Sexual Abuse Staci Haines Sex-positive and daring, this book will support any woman's pursuit of pleasure and confidence. Haines discusses common negative reactions among survivors such as withdrawal and dissociation and suggests ways to move on. Her chapters on "sexual response and anatomy" and "masturbation and self-healing" may come as a welcome revelation to women who have repressed their sexual feelings.. 1999, Cleis Press |
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A Thousand Acres: A Novel Jane Smiley In this powerful novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the adult daughter of a successful farming family comes to terms with the dark truth of her childhood sexual abuse. 2003, Anchor Books |
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The Unsayable: The Hidden Language of Trauma Annie Rogers In this powerful book, clinical psychologist Annie Rogers demonstrates how discovering the "unsayable" helps unlock the psyche of sexual abuse victims. Telling her own story and using resonant case examples, she makes a compelling and heart breaking case for the value of psychoanalysis and the restorative power of the human mind. 2006, Random House |
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Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Child Abuse Michael Lew Childhood sexual abuse happens to boys as well as girls, and this excellent self-help book focuses on the experience of men who were sexually abused as children. Topics covered include the myths and realities of abuse, masculinity and surviving abuse and recovery. Many personal stories are included in the book. 1990, Harper and Row |
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When Your Child Has Been Molested: A Parents Guide to Healing and Recovery Kathryn Brohl and Joyce Case Potter This new edition includes current research and information on the nature and effects of molestation on boys and girls, as well as proven techniques for therapy, healing, and recovery. 2004, Jossey-Bass; Revised edition |
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Wounded Boys, Heroic Men: A Man’s Guide to Recovering From Child Abuse Daniel Jay Sonkin This is a step-by-step guide to healing for men who were physically, sexually or emotionally abused as children. Special problems that men face are addressed, including not seeking help, being expected to “fix” themselves, reliance on thinking and avoidance of feeling, and being stoic. This book is hopeful and offers men a new vision of what is possible in recovering from abuse. 1992, Longmeadow |
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Writing to Heal: A Guided Journal for Recovering from Trauma and Emotional Upheaval James W. Pennebaker This book takes readers through a series of guided writing exercises that help them explore their feelings about difficult experiences. The approach is based upon the field of expressive emotions therapy (EET), developed by the author. The book stresses thoughout the healing power that lies in story-telling, whether through fiction, dance, or art. The reader is left with a strong sense of their value in the world. 2004, New Harbinger |
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