The astonishing true story of Beverli Rhodes, child victim of a sick, high-profile paedophilia ring and, years later, of the London Tube Bombings, who rebuilt her life with the help of one very special animal - the horse. Horses saved Beverli Rhodes' mind, and life. As a child, her world consisted of sexually abusive men, and her beautiful saviour horses. She survived to make a life for herself - only to suffer a second, devastating blow when she was caught up in the London Underground bombings of 7 July 2005, in which she was seriously injured. With the British healthcare system failing her, she sought other avenues to cop with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, her recovery directly resulting from contact with horses. She is now able to live a peaceful life, and continues to maintain her strong connection with the animals that helped save her. Moving and at times horrific, The Horse Girl is an extraordinary story of hate redeemed by love, as well as a testament to the triumph of the human spirit over the most terrible adversity.

Successfully navigate the minefield of misinformation that can prevent justice from being done in child sexual abuse cases From the Foreword, by Robert Geffner, PhD, editor of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: "Too often, the public and some professionals have been misled by media publicity and articles . . . that appear scientific, but in reality, are biased opinions or over-generalized research. Forensic cases are being decided in many courts based upon the recommendations of so-called expert witnesses'who do not actually know the clinical research or understand the dynamics of such abusive relationships." This much-needed book points out and corrects misinformation that everyone who works with victims, offenders, or families in which sexual abuse has occurred needs to understand clearly. Especially vital in today's political climate, Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors gives you state-of-the-science information on such myths as "false memory syndrome," "recovered memory therapy," and the "lack of harm" to some sexually abused boys. Misinformation Concerning Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Survivors examines: forensic issues, including the "false memory" defense and how the long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse is often misrepresented in court three separate expert examinations of Rind, Tromovitch, and Bauserman's well-known--and often misrepresented--review of long-term child sexual abuse outcomes treatment recommendations and guidelines for addressing the memory controversy in clinical practice the fascinating case history/cautionary tale of the child molester Robert Halsey, who was convicted and sentenced to two life sentences in 1993, and how public and academic resources were misused to claim he was wrongly convicted.

The most controversial book on family violence published this year, BREAKING SILENCE was initially banned from major book chains after a 50,000 strong Facebook boycott campaign ripped across New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the UK protesting its publication.The boycott campaign had been based on false information, however, and designed to deliberately whip up public hysteria during a Coroner's Court hearing into the deaths of two twins. Now that the book has been published the critics are praising it.Breaking Silence uses the life story of mother Macsyna King as the narrative to explore the problem of intergenerational child abuse and its impact on modern society. Herself the victim of terrible abuse and abandonment as a child, King's life falls apart when her premature identical twin sons are murdered and the father is charged with the crime.Although we frequently hear "about" such cases, it is rare to hear "from" one of the key participants in her own words. Breaking Silence is the story of a mother's journey to hell and back, and the search for justice for her twins in the face of a backlash from a society that turned its back on her. It explores and sheds light not just on child abuse and violence in the home, but analyses society's attitude to women in child abuse cases.The latest forensic debates about child abuse injuries are explored, as are the social choices many of us face every day that can lead to disaster.REVIEWS: "This mammoth book is a top achievement & should be a school text.." - Rachael Ford, psychiatric nurse*****"The book so many maligned before it came out reveals a mother we haven't met. When I last wrote about Macsyna King, I said I didn't think I'd like her. I've changed my mind. I certainly think she outclasses the Wellington radio announcer who posted on Facebook that after receiving her advance copy of "Breaking Silence," she had "spat on it, wiped my ass on it, and ripped it up.""Imagine your life reduced to sound bites of everything you've ever done wrong -and many things you haven't."Oh, how we've loved to hate her. But the woman who emerges from the book is a far more complex human being. There isn't the space here to list the ways in which she's been unfairly maligned. Yes, she made incredibly dumb choices. But she's smart, hard-working, big on cleanliness and loved her kids." - Tapu Misa, NZ HERALD*****"I feel sad that we seem to have entered a time in society where for many it is acceptable to attempt to ban the sale of a book before knowing its contents and I wonder at the motives of those who have joined efforts to stop bookstores stocking it. Could it be we have reached a point where to make ourselves feel better we have to find someone to hate, to direct our fear and uncertainty about the future of our world towards, and that for now, at least, Macsyna King is that person? Could it be that underlying the public discussions about the need to stop the book being read is a deep-seated fear that reading it will in some way leave us all with the question of what part we as members of society played in the death of these babies? Not in the sense of "Who was in the room?" but in "Have we really reached this level of disconnection in our communities?""Ian Wishart's Breaking Silence: The Kahui Case...is not a book to ban, but one to read for whatever it can add to our understanding of child abuse." - Celia Lashlie, NZ LISTENER MAGAZINE *****"We are very glad to have read it and thankful that Wishart (and King) have written it. Wishart has done the entire body politic a great deal of good. We would, accordingly, encourage everyone to read it...Breaking Silence will likely enhance Wishart's reputation considerably." - CONTRA CELSUM

The words came from his mouth,'Don't say anything about this to your mum. She won't believe you.' At the age of 11, a beautiful happy girl found herself thrust into a nightmare of abuse and violation that ripped her world apart. At the mercy of three men, she endured a four-year ordeal of sexual exploitation and degradation before eventually finding the strength to say 'no more'. Confusion and shame made her keep her secret for 16 years. This is her remarkable story. Sarah has endured what no child should. Subjected to extreme abuse from a family 'friend', she turned to her father only to experience the same treatment from him. Utterly devastated, Sarah even stared to wonder if she was somehow to blame for this most unforgivable of betrayals and was driven to attempted suicide - a life was nearly destroyed by the selfishness of three deeply troubled and wicked men.

'Molly II' is the sequel to 'Little Molly' the true story of a little girl who suffered so many beatings and experienced so much sexual abuse that she suffered from an enormous fear of human contact. In Molly II; I have tried to give some insight into the aftermath that occurs in a victim's life following child abuse. It is a true account of broken marriages, failed relationships, abduction and attempted murder. It depicts the true story of a young mother and her children's struggle to survive after being destroyed by the effects and aftermath of child abuse.

In this book, the authors present current research in the study of child abuse indicators, psychological impact and prevention. Topics discussed in this compilation include the link between mistreatment and obesity in childhood; child maltreatment prevalence and consequences of victimisation; bone disease and fractures in early childhood and their relation to child abuse; managing the risk of child sexual abuse including prevention and intervention strategies; addressing childhood trauma in Malta; the role of child sexual abuse in the development of psychopathology and borderline personality disorder.

This brief-easy-to-understand book explains what happens when a child discloses abuse and how various systems may respond to this disclosure, from investigation through prosecution or juvenile court involvement to therapy.

Intended for children ages 9-18, this book is written in a supportive tone and helps children to understand what abuse is, the steps that are taken to protect the child, the process of prosecuting the abuser, and the child's own feeling and healing process.

Adopted as a baby and raised by a devout Jehovah's Witness family, Joy Castro is constantly reminded to tell the truth no matter what the consequences. Nevertheless, Castro finds this tenet to be the most violated. Here, in her very own Truth Book, Castro bears witness to a childhood lost but a life regained. Castro's parents divorce after her father is excommunicated for smoking. She is twelve when her mother marries a "brother" in the church who, though exhibiting an impeccable public persona, is violent and controlling at home. For two years, Joy does not grow at all; in fact, she loses sixteen pounds in response to the physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse she suffers at his hands. Her battered mother does nothing to protect her, nor does her church. She is sustained by humor, books, and her protective love for her younger brother until their daring escape. This courageous personal account looks freshly at the disturbing effects of religious hypocrisy and the resilience of the human spirit.

Most people are aware of the Jewish Holocaust, the German concentration camps and the slaughter of thirteen million people. At the conclusion of World War II, many of the survivors of the camps came to New York, where physicians and psychiatrists worked with them to transition back to normalcy. These patients all shared symptoms, new to the medical field at the time, broadly called "Survivor Syndrome" and explained in the book, Massive Psychic Trauma, edited by Dr. Henry Krystal, NY, 1968. Twenty years later, Survivor Syndrome began to be associated with the symptoms of domestic violence within the home. TRAUMA & Survivor Syndrome explains these specific symptoms, differentiates them from post-traumatic-stress-disorder symptoms, and gives a case study of a child-witness to domestic violence who later, under unique circumstances, presented with the symptoms of "Survivor Syndrome." Survivor Syndrome material derived from Dr. Henry Krystal's "Massive Psychic Trauma," 1968. About the Author: Sherry Lewis Henry PhD, MSW is a retired clinical social worker. She was motivated to write TRAUMA & Survivor Syndrome by the desire and need to investigate her mother's murder, despite the obvious cover-up. Seeking for Truth became a healing journey, which led her to Israel. There, among Holocaust survivors and their progeny, she found peers, validation, and existential restoration. Dr. Viktor Frankl's words rang true, "The Survivor's Mission is twofold; healing of man-made, deliberate trauma for others and oneself is an on-going, life-long quest." "It Is Good To Be a Seeker, but sooner or later a Seeker must give that which he has found,unto the world, to whomever will receive it." (Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull)TRAUMA & Survivor Syndrome is that Gift. Publisher's website: http://sbpra.com/SherryLewisHenry

my book contains poetry and personal experiences. my book is based on my life, growing up in a world of abuse, and inevitably being taken into care as a teenager and entering the world of mental health illneses as a young woman. my aim is open peoples eyes, and through my book help them understand and believe what can happen in the crazy cycle of abuse......

She called herself Silent Anna because she couldn't tell anyone what happened between her and her stepfather. Now, many years later, she breaks the silence to reveal the sexual abuse she suffered, its impact on her life and how she has finally managed to overcome it. It's me, Anna is based on a true story. This book is a must read. Not only because it tells the story of a young girl's determination to survive and to overcome her traumatic childhood, but also because the story is told with such sincerity and honesty.

An innocent child requires love, understanding, nurturing, guidance, acceptance and care. Nia received them all even after being born of a drug addicted mother and having four siblings residing with her. It was her Great Grandmother, Mama Francine, who made sure that Nia received all that was essential in her first nine years of life while living in Tallahassee Florida. After the death of her loving Mama Francine, Nia and her brother, Jerome, would be split from their siblings and sent to live with an aunt and uncle they barely knew. It was there in the confines of her aunt Lovell and uncle Whit's home where those words of care, love and acceptance turned into torment and cruelty. The worst crime of all was the abuse that both Nia and Jerome would suffer, all the while holding it inside. Follow Nia in her journey through self doubt and shame, until one day where those clouds that followed her would be turned into A Gift of Sunshine, that in time, she would offer to another. A Gift of Sunshine is a story that is true, in a sense that it deals with facts that undoubtedly take place in our society today. It is a story that reveals hope at a time where there was none. It is a story that conquers doubt and shame and uplifts those in despair. It is story that in fact will instruct YOU to look into your own heart and realize it's your responsibly as well to present A Gift of Sunshine to one more.

It is very clear that children in every country experience abuse and neglect. The descriptions of the child welfare systems in different countries in this book illustrate several common themes: the lack of clear definitions, ambiguous policies, laws not being implemented, limited data on the extent and nature of the problem, and inadequate resources for addressing child maltreatment. Challenges facing Argentina are remarkably familiar to someone in the United States. At the same time, there are also striking differences in approaches and resources. The field of child protection is relatively young; in many areas optimal policies and practice remain uncertain. This book promotes dialogue across borders to learn from each other and advance this multifaceted field, and to better serve children and families. This book highlights some of the main themes evident in the descriptions of the different child welfare systems.

JANE DOE is a true, cruel and brutal story of a childhood destroyed. Even though most of the events in this book will shock you, you will be amazed at her strength and she will inspire you.

This is a true story of Molly, who by the age of four had suffered so many beatings and experienced so much sexual abuse that she suffered from an enormous fear of human contact. In a period of six years among a family of twelve only her abusers themselves were aware of her constant pain and suffering. Her other siblings, her father and her mother knew nothing until it was too late, and even then they found it difficult to accept that it happened in and around the house where they lived.

An abandoned Australian child struggles to survive and find her American father. An unacceptable liaison, a secret birth, a mother's silence, and her black child's journey to discover the truth... It is 1948, Sydney, Australia. Pretty, blonde Grace discovers she is pregnant to a black merchant marine who has sailed back to America. The White Australia Policy is in place and society's judgment matters; so what will Grace do with this baby? This is the true story of the inconvenient child. Rescued from neglectful foster care by an American champion boxer, the baby is taken to live in a party house in Sydney's red light district of Kings Cross. Her absent, elegant mother then abandons Sharyn in a convent-orphanage, at age five. By fifteen, discrimination within her family, resentment and clashes over her father's undisclosed identity see the troubled teenager running away to the streets of Kings Cross where she's arrested and sentenced to notorious juvenile detention centers. Sharyn's solace is her love of music but can she realize her dream to become a singer if, by twenty-four, she is trapped in the Kings Cross lifestyle? Determined to find her father, Sharyn sets out in search of her roots, a quest taking her across the world and eventually to America's Deep South. But will she find the loving family and belonging she has yearned for all her life?

Victim. Prostitute. Gangster's Wife. Survivor. Tara grew up in squalor on the island of Alderney. When she was only four, she was sexually abused by one of her mother's many lovers, a horror that continued for five long years. As a teenager, desperate to escape the toxic environment at home, she fled to London - but was swiftly drawn into working as a prostitute. She became involved with some of London's most notorious gangsters - even marrying one - but when she realised the danger she was inflicting on her children, she knew she had to find a way to get out. This is the inspiring story of one woman's will to survive, and to fight for a better life.

Since the landmark publication of The Drama of the Gifted Child, no one has been more influential than Alice Miller in empowering adults whose lives were maimed emotionally and physically as children. Now Dr. Miller goes even further, presenting groundbreaking theories that enhance communication between therapist and patient and enable the adult to express powerful emotions that have been trapped for years. Practical and perceptive, Miller s work explains what we can expect from therapy, how we can identify the causes of our own pain, and why subconscious pain, unaddressed for decades, manifests itself later as depression, self-mutilation, primal inadequacy, and chronic loneliness. With its responses to readers letters and powerful stories, Free from Lies is the culmination of a life devoted to healing others."

Alice Miller has achieved recognition for her revolutionary work on the causes and effects of child abuse - here she works towards demolishing the wall of silence which surrounds the sufferings of early childhood as they affect everyday life, politics, the media, psychiatry and psychotherapy. An infant's trust and dependency on its parents, its longing to be loved and be able to love in return, are boundless. To exploit this dependency, to confuse a child's longings and abuse its trust by pretending that this is somehow good for it, Alice Miller condemns as a criminal act, committed time and again out of ignorance and the refusal to change. The essential first stage in this healing process is feeling the truth of our experience. Only this, Alice Miller writes, can enable us to recognise childhood events and resolve their consequences so that we can lead a conscious, responsible life. If we know and feel what happened to us then, we will never wish to harm ourselves or others now.

This book is about ordinary people living in the UK today; most of whom still hide their childhoods from nearly everyone they know. With more and more survivor's biographies becoming little more than moving works of literature, this book was written to break through our social isolation on this issue. It brings a communicative bridge of understanding to a wide range of child abuse survivors whose lives seem impossible to tell apart from the norm. Through these stories, you lose your doubts about exactly what child abuse is, and how to communicate about it. You gain knowledge of its effects upon a whole range of long term adult relationships, and learn how survivors and their families might adopt various ways of healing. Survivors' Stories also works as an excellent self-development and training resource that need not be confined to a classroom or lecture hall. It's where education gets personal, as the section 'How to Talk about Abuse' describes the necessary steps to create a safe space before you attempt to talk or listen. It gives you tools to create straightforward ongoing relationships in risky new territory. Each separate story covers aspects everybody shares in common; Home background. Control, discipline and punishment. Good and bad bonding in relationships. School; other institutions, and relationships between institutions and principle carers. Money, possessions and resources. The form(s) that the more secret abuse took. The secret; thoughts and feelings in private and in public as a child. Telling; when did the survivor first tell, and what happened as a result? Addictive patterns with alcohol, drugs or any other forms of addiction. Becoming an adult; ambition, education, career, talent and involvement in the world. Adult relationships - how abuse affects family and other relationships; the secret few understand; living as the victim or the perpetrator of patterns of abuse (including abuse of self); irresolvable ongoing thoughts - like being caught in a loop'. More intimate relationships & sexuality. Getting help, looking for answers, companionship, therapy and healing. Snapshot of adult life now. The final section informs us why child abuse has been so hard to address since modern times began, fuelling us with a strong motivational rationale that gives us the confidence and courage to speak our minds and contribute to this changing voice within our wider culture. 'Survivors' Stories': an Enlightening Journey through the Differing Lives of Child Abuse Survivors by Morven Fyfe "Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey were amongst the first to reveal the truth about their childhoods. In the UK, Billy Connolly and Sinead O'Connor spoke out to enable others to break the silence ...but how do we break the silence, and what on earth do we say? This is the first in the series, 'Survivors' Stories', whereby one by one, child abuse survivors talk about their lives. Based on a wide range of backgrounds and child abuse experiences, these accounts convey the bigger picture of child abuse survivors' lives in a revealing and compelling way. Biographies are shared thoroughly, alongside information, questions and comments. There are practical guidelines to enable discussion, and through being better informed, you'll acquire the self-assurance to communicate about this complex subject with greater sensitivity, and increasing authority. Written for a wide audience, this book is for survivors, parents, foster carers of abused children, teachers and staff in schools, doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, social workers, dentists, police officers and the legal profession as a whole, counsellors, therapists, body oriented therapists and healing therapists, workers and representatives from religious groups, journalists, writers, film, media and TV production teams and finally, all proactive adults who wish to protect children from abuse.

Growing up in a quiet, middle-class suburb outside of Amsterdam, childhood best friends Anna and Olivia had their whole lives ahead of them. But every parent's worst nightmare came true when the teenagers fell in with the wrong crowd. Eleven years their senior, Ricardo was charming and good-looking - and Anna and Olivia easy prey. Blind to his grooming, the girls were soon trapped in a terrifying cycle of sexual and physical abuse. But their nightmare was only just beginning. Trafficked to the neon-lit windows of Amsterdam's Red Light District, Anna and Olivia were forced to work as prostitutes, servicing countless men night after night against their will. Body for Rent reveals the disturbing truth behind Amsterdam's Red Light District, and the shocking ease with which ordinary girls can be exploited. But despite the unimaginable horrors they endured, the damage done to their bodies and their minds, their friendship remained as strong as ever, giving them hope that one day, they would escape...

Breakthrough Treatment Offers New Hope for Recovery
"Gentling" represents a new paradigm in the therapeutic approach to children who have experienced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and have acquired Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result. This text redefines PTSD in child abuse survivors by identifying child-specific behavioral signs commonly seen, and offers a means to individualize treatment and measure therapeutic outcomes through understanding each suffering child's unique symptom profile. The practical and easily understood Gentling approaches and techniques can be easily learned by clinicians, parents, foster parents, teachers and all other care givers of these children to effect real and lasting healing. With this book, you will: Learn child-specific signs of PTSD in abused children Learn how to manage the often intense reactivity seen in stress episodes Gain the practical, gentle, and effective treatment tools that really help these children Use the Child Stress Profile (CSP) to guide treatment and measure outcomes Deploy handy 'Quick Teach Sheets' that can be copied and handed to foster parents, teachers, and social workers
Clinicians Acclaim for "Gentling"
"In this world where children are often disenfranchised in trauma care--and all too often treated with the same techniques as adults--Krill makes a compelling case for how to adapt proven post-trauma treatment to the world of a child."
--Michele Rosenthal, HealMyPTSD.com
"Congratulations to Krill when he says that 'being gentle' cannot be over-emphasized in work with the abused."
--Andrew D. Gibson, PhD Author of "Got an Angry Kid? Parenting Spike, A Seriously Difficult Child"
"William Krill's book is greatly needed. PTSD is the most common aftermath of child abuse and often domestic abuse as well. There is a critical scarcity of mental-health professionals who know how to recognize child abuse, let alone treat it."
--Fr. Heyward B. Ewart, III, Ph.D., St. James the Elder Theological Seminary, author of "AM I BAD? Recovering From Abuse"
Cover photo by W.A. Krill/ Fighting Chance Photography
Learn more at www.Gentling.org
From the New Horizons in Therapy Series at Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com