Self-Help: Survivors of Child Abuse

Most of our Genre Talk posts have covered reading for pleasure, and the types of books that we enjoy reading; but there are darker times in every person's life, when we need help, when we require assistance. Self-help books can be instrumental in providing assistance and support at a time when it is absolutely crucial, in a format that feels non-judgemental and confidential. For further help, I would recommend finding a qualified mental health professional (therapist, counselor, psychologist). In an emergency situation, there are many crisis hotlines that operate 24 hours a day every day of the year. Here in Montgomery County, Tri-County Mental Health operates a 24/7 hotline at 1-800-659-6994.



Child abuse and neglect are widespread problems. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, approximately 899,000 children were abused or neglected in 2005. We see the most extreme cases of abuse in the news-- children starved, locked in cages, or beaten regularly; but the majority of abused children simply grew up in unstable homes, where trust and empathy were lacking and they were emotionally abused or neglected. Many children are not even aware that they have been abused, until they reach adulthood and find themselves struggling with chronic emotional and psychological problems. Their issues can range from difficulties with anger, struggling to trust others, and low self-esteem to disorders such as depression, social anxiety, co-dependence, eating disorders, and alcoholism. For many people in this situation, finding peace and balance is a lifelong struggle. The following titles are intended to support those who are adult survivors of child abuse.

-- Bookedupster

Adult Children of Abusive Parents-- Steven Farmer

Farmer gives examples of dysfunctional families, drawn from real-life situations, and details the things that all dysfunctional and abusive families have in common. He also includes exercises for the reader to work through, for recovery. This book is really the best place for any adult survivor of child abuse to start.


Co-Dependent No More-- Melody Beattie

Merriam-Webster Online defines codependency as "a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person is controlled or manipulated by another who is affected with a pathological condition (as an addiction to alcohol or heroin)" Many adults who were abused as children find themselves struggling with co-dependency, since they never learned how to establish appropriate boundaries for themselves and others. This books identifies the hallmarks of co-dependency, provides real-life examples, and offers exercises to assist readers in overcoming this problem.


Alcoholics Anonymous-- Alcoholics Anonymous World Services

Not every survivor of child abuse becomes an alcoholic, but many develop addictive behaviors to cope with emotional pain and turmoil. AA is the original 12-step program, and has been helping people overcome addiction since the late 1930's. This text is often referred to as "The Big Book".


The Ten Habits of Naturally Slim People-- Jill H. Podjasek

So many weight-loss books are the same, filled with lists of what you're "allowed" to eat and what you should never even dream of eating, but this author chooses to focus on health and weight from a psychological perspective. She emphasizes addressing the mental and emotional reasons why people end up unhealthy and overweight, and walks the reader through the process of creating a healthy mind-body connection. I have included this title in this list because eating, like alcohol, is often used to dull the pain of past abuse, and building a healthy relationship with food is part of the road to recovery.


A Child Called It-- Dave Pelzer

Dave Pelzer suffered horribly under the abusive hand of his mother, and was removed from his home at age 12. At that time, his case was considered one of the most extreme cases of child abuse that had been seen in California. In this book, he details his childhood and how he survived. Reading a memoir like this can help remind survivors of child abuse that they are not alone.

Good Things Come in Small Packages: Short Stories

I’ve never been much of a reader. I’ve always read what I had to for class and never made time for much else. I have found, however, that I can make time for short stories. They are faster and easier for me to read because I can read as many or as few as I’d like and always jump back into the collection when I have more time. If you’ve never sat down with a book of short stories, you should!

If you have someone that is a reluctant reader (like myself), short stories can often help. Many people think that short stories would only be something for small children, but the choices are endless. Some collections feature one author, while others focus on a theme, with stories written by various authors. There are short story collections for all ages. This format is especially popular in YA (Young Adult) literature. You can find YA short story collections dealing with everything from spirituality and human suffering to spooky Halloween stories to stories by guys for guys about teenage life and growing up; and some of them are rich and complex enough to be enjoyed by an adult audience.


-- Toni, MCMLS YA librarian

Here are a few recommendations of books that I’ve found interesting:

Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
By: Sherman Alexie
This collection features interconnected stories set on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. Characters overlap from story to story, creating a larger picture. You follow the characters on a literal journey across the country while at the same time see the spiritual, emotional, and life-changing journey that they endure. This short story collection is also excellent paired with Judy Blunt’s Breaking Clean and Edward Abby’s Desert Solitaire for a literary portrait of the American Southwest.

Come to Me
By: Amy Bloom
This is a collection of stories revolving around a few central characters. Each story can stand alone, but they are all intertwined. Bloom alternates her story lines, allowing you to follow each character’s journey through varying viewpoints. At only 192 pages, it’s easy to get caught up in the author’s world and read the book as a novel. At the same time, you feel satisfied at the end of each story, so if you need to put it down for the night or for 3 weeks, you can come back to the rest of the book easily. If you like her style of writing, check out her novel Love Invents Us.

Girl in the Flammable Skirt
By: Aimee Bender
In this collection of individual tales, each story pulls us into a single surreal feature, leaving the rest of the setting and characters in normal, every day situations. In “The Rememberer”, a woman watches her lover evolve backward from man to ape to turtle to salamander. Bender somehow makes the unbelievable plausible and the bizarre features of each story become allegories of our lives. They are somewhat serious, but with an overall feel of a dark comedy to them. Through the humor and surrealism, she holds a mirror to our own insecurities, our flaws, and our humanity. Just be ready to put up with oddities and fairly straightforward writing (which is helpful for those that aren’t into looking up vocabulary in dictionaries while they read for enjoyment…yes…I’m one of those kids who never did that either.)

Where I’m Calling From and What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
By: Raymond Carver
These books offer an all too honest look at life. If Aimee Bender’s bizarre paranormal tendencies don’t strike your fancy, check out Carver’s collections of short stories. He looks honestly at life and isn’t afraid to deal with difficult issues. He has a way of presenting a situation to allow you to see the heart of the issue without overtly describing what is going on. Instead, he describes little details to give insight into the human experience. Here’s an example of one of his stories, "A Small Good Thing".




Do you have a favorite short story? Leave it in the comments!

Literature for Chicks? Chick Lit!

When I read a book, I want a happy ending. I really don’t want to suffer through the agony and angst and death and destruction, and get a so-so ending. I want to know right up front that everything will end well for the main character. All the problems will be solved and everything will be right with the world. That is why I read Chick Lit.

Wikipedia defines Chick Lit as featuring "hip, stylish female protagonists, usually in their twenties and thirties, in urban settings (usually London or Manhattan), and follows their love lives and struggles for professional success (often in the publishing, advertising, public relations or fashion industry). The books usually feature an airy, irreverent tone and frank sexual themes." The main feature of Chick Lit is there is ALWAYS a happy ending.

In addition to the predictable happy ending, Chick Lit features down-to-earth girls who have trouble with their credit cards, eat too much cake, forget to make their car payment or stumble, fall and break something. These are real women who struggle through their daily lives by making mistakes and learning from them. Chick Lit also showcases strong female protagonists who are career women, figuring out what life is about and how to make life what they want it to be.

At the crux of most of these novels is the handsome man. Whether it is the carpenter who is really a multimillionaire, the advertising executive who has a mean girlfriend, or the next-door neighbor’s son who has been out of the country attending medical school, the Chick Lit novel prides itself on creating a male protagonist that falls madly in love with the young woman just as she is-- no changes necessary.

-- Sarah, MCMLS librarian

The following titles are great introductions to the world of Chick Lit:

Can you keep a secret?-- Sophie Kinsella
The Sleeping Beauty Proposal-- Sarah Stroymeyer
Bridget Jones’ Diary-- Helen Fielding
Boy Meets Girl-- Meg Cabot
Dear Prince Charming-- Donna Kauffman
Last Chance Saloon-- Marian Keyes
Life A La Mode-- Linda Lenjoff
Passion, Betrayal and Killer Highlights-- Kyra Davis
Playing James-- Sarah Mason
Reality TV Bites-- Shane Bolks
Size 12 Is Not Fat-- Meg Cabot
Society Girls-- Sarah Mason


Read a great chick lit novel? Leave it in the comments!

And the winner is......

Recent Award Winners


Doris Lessing is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2007.

Anne Enright is the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for her book The Gathering.

This year's National Book Award winner has not yet been announced, but you can check out the finalist list here.

Read an amazing award-winning title? Leave it in the comments!

Why do people kill? Most of us will never truly understand how one human being can deliberately take the life of another. When we read about a murder in the newspaper we wonder - why? What was the motive? Perhaps knowing the motive and the circumstances of a murder somehow makes us feel a little safer because we can then make a mental checklist of what behaviors, or words, or places, or people to avoid. Is it even possible to safeguard ourselves against murder, or are we merely pawns of fate? The following books contain the stories of some very ill-fated people.

---- Kelley, MCMLS librarian


America's Most Hated Woman: The Life and Gruesome Death of Madalyn Murray O'Hair by Anne Rowe Seaman

Whatever happened to Madalyn Murray O'Hair? You may remember that she disappeared from Austin, Texas in 1995 along with her son Jon, and granddaughter Robin. Their disappearance was a mystery for years because Madalyn was so widely disliked that nobody cared enough to find out what happened to her. A newspaper reporter and a private investigator finally uncovered the shocking truth.


Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders by Dick Lehr

Two popular Dartmouth college professors were brutally murdered in their home in 2001. But who killed Half and Susanne Zantop, and why? Read the tragic story of their deadly encounter with two "normal" high school boys from a neighboring town.

Confederacy of Silence: A True Tale of the New Old South by Richard Rubin

A writer returns to Leflore County, Mississippi to cover the murder trial of Handy Campbell, former Ole Miss football player. Campbell and an associate have been accused of killing a UPS delivery man. Are they guilty or is a there a miscarriage of justice in the works?

Science Fiction For People Who Don’t Like Science Fiction

Do the words "science fiction" conjure up thoughts of space operas, aliens, and dragons? Then you haven't tried these titles!

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger combines very traditional sci-fi themes – time travel and progressive medical technology – with the trials and foibles of life. The story follows a time traveling man and the woman who will be, has been, and is his wife. At once a beautiful love story and thought provoking science fiction novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife can appeal to many different tastes.

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon is a novel narrated by an autistic man named Lou Arrendale in the very near future. He and his autistic coworkers provide their astonishing pattern-recognition skills to a large company. A “cure” for autism is discovered, and the group is given an ultimatum – be cured or be fired. Elizabeth Moon writes tenderly and factually from Lou’s perspective, drawing from her experiences with her son’s autism.

How Like a God by Brenda Clough weaves ancient Sumerian myth with American suburbia. Rob Lewis is an ordinary man who awakes one day with the ability to read minds. His powers steadily grow until he is forced to leave his home because he is unconsciously distorting his children’s development. He drifts alone for years, trying to save people from his power, until he meets someone that can help him control it. This novel gives an imaginatively honest look at the limits of the very powerful.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is more in the fantasy vein, but it did win the science fiction community’s prestigious Hugo Award. It takes place in 19th century Britain in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars. The practice of magic had fallen away and been replaced by the study of magic for hundreds of years in England. Suddenly, two very different men come forward as real, practicing magicians just in time to rescue their country (and give bored society a huge boost.)

American Gods by Neil Gaiman is the story of Shadow, a man released from prison the day after his wife died. He meets a mysterious character, and in his desperation begins to travel with him. Little does he know that he has now entered a battle between all the old gods of myth and the new gods of technology. Gaiman writes with dark, quick humor, and makes his incredible story believable.

-- Jessica H, MCMLS reference assistant








Have a favorite science fiction title? Leave it in the comments!

New Oprah's Book Club Title

Love in The Time of Cholera tells the story of a love triangle that spans 50 years, and explores the many ways that we as human beings view love and marriage. You can put a copy on hold here.