Violence, forgiveness, and healing

Domestic violence is a widespread, though largely invisible, problem, often exacerbated by the pastoral urge to "keep the family together" at all costs. Yet if that is not a solution, how should the church relate to batterers?

"I believe that the Christian community, if it is to be genuinely a community of healing and hope, must attend to both the victims and the perpetrators of domestic violence", says David Livingston. Addressing the complex phenomenon of intimate violence against wives, lovers, and children, Livingston profiles batterers and battering and traces it to larger cultural pathologies. He explores the ambiguous role of religion and then offers practical advice of pastoral and programmatic efforts to embrace simultaneously the twin Christian imperatives of forgiveness and responsibility.

From five years old, Abbie didn't know who she was supposed to be. To deal with her lack of identity she turned to self-harm, using it as a form of control. Eventually she began the painstaking process of stopping her behavior and discovering who she was in Christ. In her stark autobiography Abigail Robson deals with the delicate and often misunderstood issues of self harm, bulimia and anorexia. Dispelling the often held belief that 'cutting' is purely attention seeking behaviour the book offers first hand insight into the torment which many people suffer in an attempt to cope with the reality of everyday day life. Robson is disarmingly honest at times as she takes the reader through her journey through self hatred, insecurity and desire for control to forgiveness, acceptance and ultimate freedom through Christ. Abigail offers hope without trivializing the immense struggles involved in breaking free from this desperate, lonely and destructive cycle.

Maria es una mujer que se debate entre los viajes y la busqueda de sus suenos. Una mujer que, entre 1981 y 2011, lucha contra la violencia machista de su esposo.

Siempre dando oportunidades, cruzando una y otra vez la frontera de los suenos, buscando algun sitio donde echar raices. Una y otra vez, su mano abierta incrustada en mi cara, una y otra vez la bebida no le hace recordar.

Decidi que ya no permitiria mas abuso verbal, fisico y psicologico. Ya no hay flores que valgan, ya no quiero escuchar "El Te Amo de la Violencia." Ya no se veran caer mas lagrimas por las mejillas de mis hijas.

Drawing On Anxiety is a beautifully illustrated, interactive, timely and friendly art therapy journal to draw out, draw on and draw through in anxious times. Part memoir, part self-help and self-care, this creative journal full of guided prompts and grounding affirmations is a mindful, positive tool for exploring your body's natural response to stress. Illustrator and author Kate Sutton draws on her own personal experiences of dealing with anxiety to create a warm and friendly journal that encourages you to be kind to yourself, take a moment and explore your feelings through the act of drawing. Built on art therapy principles and filled with prompts to help you express yourself on the page, as well as affirmations which help remind us that it will all be okay, this diary will help give you the resilience and strength needed to make it through those difficult moments. This book is part of the Drawing On... series, a collection of creative guided journals which help readers explore difficult topics including anxiety and grief. Also available is Drawing On Grief, which explores the delicate and difficult subject of loss, and how art therapy can help us navigate this painful time.

In this book Nomvuyiseko narrates a story of feeling that at twenty six years old, she was hanging by a thread six years after leaving her marital home, tormented by emotions of failure, hopelessness, and cliff broken dreams. The self-hatred lingered longer than she thought and “almost became the end of me”.

By the time she realised how dark the place was that she had reached, she was already in pieces. Her being had fallen out of sync with itself and was headed fast on a destructive trajectory. She either had to collect the pieces or watch herself fall apart. She kept thinking she wished that she was older; then perhaps she would have better skills and the ability to help herself collect what she saw as her scattered pieces. She was angry at herself for having taken a decision so huge that it had brought three children into this world yet failed to keep to the decision to remain married.

With an understanding that healing is complex, she commenced her journey towards collecting the broken pieces of her life with the aim to be joyful again. This is a self help book that seeks to convey the message that despite moments of unhappiness one can find true happiness and joy if they commit to do the inner work.

Cissy is a typical young girl, one who loves her family, her friends, and her toys. But one day, she experienced something that no child should ever endure-and it was the beginning of a nightmare for her. Against her will and beyond her ability to comprehend, Cissy found herself at the center of a growing epidemic.

The impact of her abuse left her with insecurities and low self-esteem, devaluing herself, not realizing her potential and worth. Cissy grew up with self-doubt, and as a direct result of the selfish acts of sexual predators, her choices became increasingly self-destructive. The inability to make better choices, Cissy soon found herself directly and indirectly associated with murderers, drug dealers and worse.

But the darkness of her childhood would eventually be banished by the embrace of the Only One who could change her course.

"Innocence Erased" is not just about Cissy, one child who was the victim of sexual abuse; it is about all children who have lived through this violence. Included are tools designed to help educate parents, guardians, and children. Even a single act against a child can redirect their course of life forever, however, there is help, hope, and healing available for survivors.

"The most significant fact about people who abuse children is how ordinary they are. They come from all walks of life, they live in cities and rural communities; they are often successful people (but not always) who hold good jobs and keep neat and clean homes. They are seldom terrible or sadistic people.

In "Questions of an abused child" offers hope to abused children and adults in this simple, no-nonsense look at the realities of abuse. Author Ivan Muise draws upon his own battle with abuse to bring you an in-depth guide to breaking this deadly cycle.

Broken down into easy-to-understand chapters, you'll discover the answers to your most important questions in the following categories, among others:

• Children
• Marriage
• Parents
• Relationships between the abused and the police
• Religion
• Things your children should know

Learn how to recognize abuse and acquire strategies on how to deal with abuse. If you or someone you know is being mistreated, "Questions of an abused child" can help. Your future depends on it!

We all go through different trials in our lives, but there can be victory, healing, and redemption of our past. We can move forward and be healthy, happy people, fulfilling our desires and destiny. My prayer is that the words in this book will come alive and you will see just how precious you are to our God and how you too can overcome anything that has hurt you. There is a story in Ezekiel 37 about the valley of dry bones coming to life, and new muscles, tissue, and skin growing; the people were alive again. Do you feel that sometimes you are just spiritually dead and need new life? Sometimes we just need to gain wisdom through someone else's experiences, to see what we have been missing in our own lives. I hope through my experiences you will gain knowledge that will give you revelation into becoming the person you desire to be.