"This book is an absolute gift to the world." Jacqueline Woodson Every year more than half a million young people are sexually abused or assaulted in North America. This groundbreaking book brings readers face-to-face with nine survivors who speak with candor and courage about the abuse they experienced, how they have healed, and how they are moving forward with their lives. White, black, Latino, and Native American, these everyday heroes come from a wide range of communities and have found different ways to cope with and overcome sexual trauma. Through moving personal stories and striking photographs they take readers into their lives, offering insight and hope for anyone affected by this all-too-common childhood experience. In this book about healing, young readers and their families will find additional information in the resource section, a comprehensive guide to the best help lines, books, films, and Web sites on healing and resilience.
As a therapist who has done considerable work with incest and sexual abuse, I give this the highest rating. I think it makes an important contribution to the field and particularly to people of any age, gender or sexual orientation that are dealing with their own recovery. It is sensitive and soulful.
Enlightening
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
Strong at the Heart presents very personal stories. These individual stories together present the resilency of the heart. Very moved and inspired to continue my work as Rape Crises Counselor
Indispensable read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I have not suffered childhood abuse but was recommended this book as a source of inspiration and education on helping people to face and overcome the abuse they've suffered and suppressed for years. This book is a breath of fresh air for victims and friends interested in helping loved ones heal persistent, bottled up wounds; it provides hope and can be a great source of inspiration for all readers.
Helpful for non-survivors too
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Like many women, I have had a lot of friends who were sexually abused. If you are anything like me, you want to be there for your friends, reassure them that you believe them, are there for them, and love them, but it is very hard to know what you could possibly say and do to help someone you love get through something like this. It is hard to know what someone might want or need from their friends in order to help them recover. So for me, reading about these incredibly strong, interesting, and diverse men and women really helped me know what someone might be feeling and thinking but feel unable to express. I saw what people said and did for them that was helpful in their recovery, and it helped me feel more prepared to talk with my friends about sexual abuse and to support those who are recovering from it. The book is written for teens on up, but doesn't talk down to you or oversimplify the feelings and issues involved, so it is a great resource for adults as well. The conversational style makes it a quick and simple read, so even people who don't enjoy reading would still get a lot out of this book. I particularly liked the diversity shown. There are people from many races and ethnicities, men and women from different cultural and religious backgrounds, people who were abused at different ages and by different kinds of people in their lives. The diversity didn't feel like tokenism; I felt like we really got at some important kernal of humanity and shared experience which made every single entry an experience that anybody could relate to. I recommend this book for survivors, those who work with children, teens, and young adults, and people like me who would like to help their friends or relatives in their recovery but aren't sure what support we might be able to offer that would be of value to our loved ones. The author's website offers additional resources: http://www.strongattheheart.com/
what a blessing
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
How I wish I had had Strong at the Heart in my house during the ten years I was wrestling with incest memories and trying to rebuild my life. I might not even have needed to read the book, although its words are amazing solace and inspiration. If all I had had were the photographs of these survivors to look at, I would have been so encouraged to believe that I, too, could recover. They are so clear-eyed! They look exactly like themselves, which is one of the gifts of recovery. You lose so much when you are, or find out you were, abused - it is soul-shattering, and feels so impossible to get over. But what you find if you can keep going is that you become/create/discover a new self, much more together and vivid and real than the old one. It's clear from their faces that these survivors have found their true selves. When you read their stories, you'll see how brave they are to have endured what they had to. I'm so proud of them! Strong at the Heart is courageous, inspirational, and beautifully done. My love to the teens and young adults who told their stories so others of us could be healed, and to Carolyn Lehman, for bringing them to us with such generosity.
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