Blog Archives
Raven and the Hummingbird: A Healing Path to Recovery from Multiple Personality Disorder
Raven and the Hummingbird: A Healing Path to Recovery from Multiple Personality Disorder by Renate F. Caldwell is an insightful exploration into the complex world of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). This book brings to life the experience of Joan, a 44-year-old woman living with 52 distinct personalities, a coping mechanism her mind created in response to the severe sexual abuse she endured as a child.
This story is rooted in a chance encounter in 2003, where Caldwell, serving as a substitute therapist at a church group, met a group of women who were seeking solace by sharing their burdens with one another. Among them was Joan, a silent figure sitting alone, whose tear-stained note led to a transformative five-year recovery journey.
What sets Raven and the Hummingbird apart is its authenticity. This is not a book steeped in theoretical frameworks or rooted in empirical research. Instead, it provides readers an intimate, unfiltered look at a challenging therapeutic journey. It invites readers to step into Caldwell’s shoes and witness the rollercoaster of Joan’s recovery, experiencing every triumph and setback along the way.
As a psychology student, I found the portrayal of Joan’s numerous personalities, particularly Beth, a seven-year-old alter, profoundly touching. Caldwell’s narrative gives readers a vivid, tangible understanding of DID, allowing us to witness the transitions from Joan to Beth and back and observe their unique characteristics and interactions. This stark portrayal of DID, coupled with Joan’s journey to recovery, offers a profound educational opportunity for both students and practitioners in the field of psychology and psychiatry.
In addition to presenting a profoundly human story of resilience and healing, Caldwell accomplishes two significant feats with this work. First, she aids Joan in overcoming her DID through dedication, diligence, and empathy. Second, she masterfully translates their shared experience into a raw, honest, and richly layered narrative. As a result, this book doesn’t merely inform; it changes its readers, offering a deeply empathetic understanding of DID.
However, it is essential to note that certain sections of the book include detailed accounts of child sexual abuse, which may be triggering for some readers. Please consider this before committing to this emotionally intense journey.
Describing the impact of this book is a challenging task. Reading it felt akin to sharing a coffee with a dear friend, intimately privy to their experiences, which is a compelling way to approach such a subject. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Caldwell and Joan for their success in both the journey to recovery and crafting a book that succeeds in demystifying DID.
I highly recommend Raven and the Hummingbird to students of psychiatry and psychology, who will find invaluable insights not readily available in standard academic literature. Additionally, anyone interested in an intimate exploration of human resilience or seeking to understand DID will find this book both enlightening and profoundly moving.
Pages: 669 | ASIN : B0BHBFS4S1
Nobody’s Daughter
In Nobody’s Daughter, author Rica Ramos shares a deeply personal memoir that recounts a difficult childhood marked by an unsupportive mother and the lasting impact of those experiences. Ramos navigates the intersections of past and present, illuminating the constant presence of a mother who consistently failed to provide the care and protection her children needed. The narrative delves into the author’s experiences with abuse, exploring her feelings of resentment towards not only her abusive stepfather but also her mother for neglecting to shield her children from harm.
Ramos tackles a range of sensitive subjects. However, the memoir’s primary focus extends beyond the traumatic experiences that occupy a substantial portion of the narrative. The ultimate goal becomes evident in the concluding chapters, as the author applies the healing she has undergone through therapy to nurture the newest generation of her family—her grandchild. By reflecting on her mother’s actions and consciously choosing to treat her grandchild with gentleness and love, Ramos offers solace to her inner child.
While the book contains moderately detailed accounts of sexual abuse, making it unsuitable for readers who may find such topics distressing, it is an invaluable resource for those who have experienced similar emotional detachment from a parent. The author’s journey toward healing provides a cathartic and potentially helpful perspective for individuals grappling with comparable childhood traumas.
Nobody’s Daughter is a compelling memoir that I would recommend to many who have overcome abuse or who know someone who has suffered from abuse. It is also an insightful look at the mother and daughter relationship and shows readers that their own self-worth matters over the cultural stigma of honoring their mother. Through Rica’s story, other women will find validation and strength to stand up for themselves and know their voice matters.
Pages: 187 | ASIN : B0B8H4T8MQ
Rooted HEIR
Rooted HEIR by Christina Somera is a memoir focusing on the traumas and events of Christina’s life and her path to understanding and healing from them. Starting on her childhood and the abuse she experienced that later put a wrench in her relationship with her mother and children, Christina acknowledges the unresolved feelings she’s been burying over the years. Yet, sharing her thoughts and feelings about each chapter of her life continues to bring her closer to the woman she wants to be.
Scared of becoming her mother and her family falling apart, Christina does everything she can to keep her family together but, in the process, grows distant from her kids, struggling to form the relationship she lacked growing up. Constantly seeking validation and love from men, Christina repeatedly tries to fill a hole she’s had since childhood. Rather than taking the time to love herself, she does everything she can to get the men in her life to love her or find new men to love her. All of these struggles Christina goes through are part of the journey she shared in this inspirational book.
From the first page to the last, this book wrapped itself around my heart. It was absolutely inspirational. Christina’s story is a heavy one; after all that she has been through, the steps she took to heal are genuinely unique. I loved this book so much; I don’t often give a 5/5, but Rooted HEIR deserves it. As Christina shares the events of her life and the trials she overcame, she inspires others to heal. I love that there are so many lessons we can take away from this book, the most important to me being that you can’t give something you don’t have for yourself. You can’t properly love or be loved until you love yourself first. Forgiveness and healing are a journey; neither can be rushed, and neither should be put on hold.
Christina’s book is not only well written, but it is empowering and inspirational. Yes, her story is an emotional rollercoaster, but her words prove the steps she took to overcome her past and show her strength. This book is eye-opening because you never know what people are going through, even if they’re smiling. This book definitely has sensitive topics: physical abuse, emotional abuse, rape, and suicide. However, they are all raw truths about Christina’s life that took a lot of strength for her to reminisce and process, reflecting on her strength and courage and inspiring others to keep going.
Rooted HEIR is an intensely emotional memoir about survival and learning to thrive after abuse and trauma. Christina’s story is as inspirational as it is heartbreaking. Through all the trauma, she has found who she really is and is learning to thrive and sharing this message with others so they too can break free from their shells and be who they are meant to be.
Pages: 155 | ASIN : B0BGCS3NHR
Carbon Under Pressure
Carbon Under Pressure is the extraordinary story of an ordinary young woman called Rose. This emotional book starts with an account of Rose’s daughter Sophie attempting suicide. Then, the book follows Rose through the next three years of her life as she tries to save her daughter. As if this is not bad enough, more troubles follow this family as they try to wake up from the nightmare they are living and get through to the light.
Author Meg Heart tells her story in a manner that if the reader didn’t know beforehand that this was based on a true story, it would read like a fictional novel. The people portrayed in this book take on the appearance of a set of characters, with a relatable protagonist, a supporting yet devious husband, and a teenage daughter going through a dark phase in her life. While the entire story seems fictional on the surface and anything but ordinary, the most significant message of the book is that it can happen to anyone. The author adeptly carries the story forward while focusing on the mental state of all the characters involved and thus manages to evoke strong emotions in the reader.
This book is intended for mature audiences and covers topics of suicide and sexual assault. However, it is done with great care. The author only mentions the details that are required to tell the story without making the book too heavy to read. The book revolves around the themes of suicide, dealing with depression, family, and sexual assault and covers the topics in fair depth and accuracy.
Carbon Under Pressure is the memoir of one woman named Rose and about the darkest point in her life. How she survived and made it through is detailed with the cautionary tale that it could happen to anyone. This biography will appeal to readers that are interested in women’s studies, depression, sexual assault, and family issues. This book does an excellent job of describing the lesser talked about realities of life.
Page: 176 | ASIN : B09KY45J7P
This or Something Better
While tracking the rural environment of Placerville, Sacramento, Glenn Ellen, and California’s rural foothills, This or Something Better by Elisa Stancil Levine presents an alternate shift from childhood reminiscence to dark, intense memories laced with perseverance and adaptability. The memoir begins in 2017, with a fire scorching acres of land in Sonoma Country, including the residential area of the author. It then shifts back and forth between adolescence and maturity, following the author’s frantic journey from self-containment to the never-ending pursuit of truth.
When the decorative artist leaves the fire land without informing any of her neighbors, the firestorm not only causes havoc with the natural animals and property but also prompts a series of introspective questions in her mind. Her story of estrangement and persistence takes readers on a journey through her eventful and incredible life. Having grown up in a reproachable neighborhood, lost her first child as a teenage mother, and having been labeled a murderer by her grandmother, the author takes readers on a roller-coaster journey through her past and present. It is at the end of the story that she discovers how to forgive herself for many of her self-proclaimed acts of accusation and discover the ultimate question that nudges her curiously from childhood- ‘what it means to be a human?’
The narrative is full of genuine viewpoints and a critical analysis of the numerous issues that plague a child’s head after experiencing sexual abuse, as well as their parents’ disapproval of their dreams and viewpoints. In addition to the spiritual inquiry, the fact that nature has a vital hold on the human psyche manifests itself in the reflections of the author, a nature girl. This or Something Better takes readers on a spiritual quest that comes with the inevitable questioning of who we are as human beings.
Beginning in 1953 in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, every memory and experience from childhood is dusted off the memory attic in the memoir, complete with nostalgia, anguish, and ambition. It’s a terrific prescription for women of the times, as it aids in the healing of wounds created by uncertain relationships, child loss, adolescent parenthood, and the relentless efforts to silence the passionate and compelling voice of an assertive and insistent woman. It’s also a motivational read, with the uplifting message at the end of each chapter: “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf
This or Something Better: A Memoir of Resilience takes readers on an introspective journey as they listen to the author’s stories. Sometimes, a biography is just the history of one person’s life; this is more, it is a book of hope, perseverance, and healing.
Pages: 253 | ASIN : B09CYPNNP2
You Can’t Live Your Life From a Place of Fear
Thriving After Sexual Abuse shares your story of recovery and gives other abuse victims a starting place on their own road to recovery. Why was this an important book for you to write?
As part of my healing journey, I did a lot of journaling and poetry writing. My husband always encouraged me to share my story to help other survivors, but I didn’t think I could write a memoir about my experiences. As a survivor of trauma, I have difficulty placing the abuse memories in the context of my life outside of the abuse. This is pretty common for survivors. I didn’t feel I had enough of a storyline to put together a meaningful memoir.
And then the story about Dr. Larry Nassar and his abuse of so many girls and women gymnasts came out, and my heart was broken open by how many were suffering because of this one man. I thought to myself that someone should do something to help these women, and others like them, to heal from the trauma of their abuse. And that is when I realized that I could do that; I could write a book about my experiences in the context of my healing journey. I could share the practices and activities that helped me heal as an inspiration for others to begin, or continue on, their own healing journeys. That was the motivation I needed to write my book.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
It was very challenging to write about how much the abuse affected me before I started my healing journey, to delve back into those years of shame, confusion, anger, and suffering. It was incredibly difficult to put those words on paper and to relive those experiences. But it was also very healing to see how far I’ve come and where I am in my life today compared to where I started.
The other most challenging part to write was the “Who Knew What and When?” chapter. To go back and consider who could have known about the abuse and had not stepped in to help me was tough. And to write that chapter in a way to help others go through the same process took quite a while to piece together. But I think it brought clarity for me to understand how and why I dealt with the relationships with those people they way I did as I moved forward in my healing journey.
What is one piece of advice someone gave you that changed your life?
A friend of mine once told me “You can’t live your life from a place of fear.” I was angry at him when he told me that! But I came to realize he was right. That I was keeping myself from living a life of thriving and joy because I was afraid of people finding out about my childhood abuse, afraid of being rejected or pitied, afraid of being my true self. Once I took his message to heart, I was able to be brave in my authenticity and live from a place where no one and no past experiences could control me or the life I wanted to create.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
That healing from sexual abuse is possible.
That you are strong enough to start a healing journey that will take you to a place of thriving, and you deserve every minute of that joyful life!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Thriving After Sexual Abuse
A walking guide on healing practices and experiences from the victim of sexual abuse, Denise Bossarte’s Thriving After Sexual Abuse intends to help victims break free of the shackles of self-blame and feelings of unworthiness following sexual abuse.
The book is broken into four parts, each of which attempts to introduce and educate the reader about different methods, approaches, and self-analysis they can use to come out and win over abuse, transforming into a confident, more vital being with a sense of self-esteem and being loved.
With its four sections, the first part is the foundation of the healing journey, which includes choice of therapy, meditation, and reading self-help books. These sections encompass the author’s own experiences, options that she has explored and adopted for her healing process in her journey towards choosing from a variety of anxiety-provoking steps for a newcomer off on the path of release from the trauma of abuse.
Part two of the guide concentrates more on practices that are easy to adhere to and adapt and that have been scientifically proven to contribute to an overall feeling of well-being among humans. Here are some fun ways to improve connection with suppressed emotions using interesting, engaging, and convenient options such as yoga & creative art. A therapist’s constant guidance on some trigger-inducing practices is advised, just as in part one of the book.
Part three focuses more on the insecure questions that keep coming to the surface in the survivor’s mind that must be answered for overall healing. It presents explicit information about dealing with body triggers and memories and confronting the blocked memories of abusive experiences to overcome fear and anxiety related to such memories.
The fourth and last part contains the journaling of the author, a healing practice highly recommended by her. It includes the poems, which result from the healing process that allowed the author to identify & address her suppressed traumatic emotions. From a victim filled with fear, anxiety, and self-doubt regarding her worth to a healed, confident survivor who flourished in the world, these poems describe the journey of Dennis Bossarte.
Denise Bossarte, a victim of incest at the hands of her grandfather, shares in an easily perceivable manner the step-by-step process for healing that she applied. The resources such as books, meditation apps, and links to numerous support programs are an added bonus for readers who lack any external guidance. There is a considerate and polite tone to the book that leaves the ultimate delivery of healing to the survivor. Each section ends with a question that allows the survivor to reflect on the entire process and the subsequent effects, giving them complete control over how to proceed.
Thriving After Sexual Abuse is a valuable guide that offers excellent support to a traumatic abuse victim, as they get first-hand knowledge of the process of healing directly from someone who successfully applied it and eventually transcended her journey to thriving.
Pages: 252 | ASIN : B0937GR5MR
LITERARY TITAN 