Bitter Chocolate: Child Sexual Abuse in India (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book challenges our notions of family honour and morality.

Product Details

• Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; 1 edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140298975
• ISBN-13: 978-0140298970
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,771,885 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adore this book, November 4, 2008

By	NightWishFan - See all my reviews

This is a great tool for those who work with Indian child sexual abuse survivors, in order to understand how the culture causes families to brush such a horrific act under the rug.

It's also great for other Indian survivors who may feel alone and don't have an outlet to talk about what happened. You are bound to have a lot in common with at least one of the stories in this book. It touches on the after-effects of promiscuity, prostitution,sexual dysfunction, mental illness and re-victimization that result from being a survivor, which are things that traditional Indian culture can't admit exists among us..What's sad is that things like promiscuity/"acting out" or getting anxious when touched are some of the signs of child sexual abuse. Families are more concerned about preserving their "honor"/reputation than figuring out what is causing their kid to act how they are.


I just wished that Pinki spent more time on the "exiting the survivor cycle, and gave examples of how people accomplished that.It's one thing for an Indian to recognize how traumatic child sexual abuse is, but a lot of survivors are continuing to unconsciously re-victimize themselves without knowing how to successfully get out.