In this moving and authoritative work which combines dedicated research and interviews with victims of childhood abuse and neglect, psychotherapist Linda Sanford passionately refutes the received wisdom that such people are trapped in a vicious circle of abuse and will probably become perpetrators of violence themselves. In more than seventeen years of working with victims and survivors, she discovered that this simplistic formula is far from true. Most survivors, in her experience, break free from the patterns of victimization and abuse and go on to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. And the more than twenty interviewed in depth by Sanford provide vivid proof that full recovery is possible. As they discuss key issues, such as self-image, intimacy, work and spirituality, we come to see what enables them, and countless others like them, to triumph over trauma and become not only strong, but often strongest where they've been most injured- strong at the broken places.