NCJ Number
145694
Date Published
1993
Length
166 pages
Annotation
This is an autobiographical and pictorial account of the process of recovering from the effects of childhood sexual abuse.
Abstract
The first part of the book contains drawings by the author, a professional artist, which portray her feelings and perceptions as a child who experienced physical and sexual abuse. The drawings are followed by journal entries that recount dreams, questions, and philosophical insights selected from a 6-year journal. The journal entries alternate with poems written by the author. The author notes that the recovery process is not a linear path; it is more like a spiral. With her return to a previous insight, she enlarges upon what she previously learned. She advises that there are three "voices" in the book: the wordless voice of the art itself, the voice of a wounded survivor struggling to heal, and the calm voice of knowledge and insight. These voices correspond to the three stages of the author's recovery: the initial, nonverbal recovery of memory; the naming of that memory so that it could be mourned, and the empowerment she felt as she moved from survivor to activist in writing the book. Informational sections of the book discuss the definition of child abuse, the perpetrators, survivors of child abuse and incest, the consequences of abuse, recovery, and expressive therapies.