Double Vision: A Travelogue of Recovery from Ritual Abuse [Paperback]

Anna Richardson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Trilogy Books (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962387975
• ISBN-13: 978-0962387975
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,425,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disbelief, December 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Double Vision: A Travelogue of Recovery from Ritual Abuse (Paperback)

I'm a ritual abuse survivor, and I felt very uncomfortable as I read this book. I felt that there truly was a great deal of 'leading' from the woman's minister, and that her memories were often the result of other people's experiences. I'm in a difficult position as a survivor myself; wondering if I've turned into a traitor -- or worse a part of the "backlash" everybody else is talking about.

I think what got me the most about this book was the lack of information. She simply didn't know enough of the reasons for her abuse -- a strange and unbelievable fact for any sra survivor. I know that the cult was determined to instruct me in their ways. Out of everything I know, I know with exquisite detail and by rote precisely why they did what they did. I know their beliefs, I know their motivations, I know the specifics. It has never been otherwise. I have never sat and wondered "why" they did what they did -- but rather "how could they" and "why did they do this to me"?

I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for this -- partially because I'm battling disbelief, and partially because I'm a fellow survivor who should "know better" than to doubt another.

And I suppose that's okay, too. Because in the end, I know my story, I know what happened to me, and I know that I don't have to believe other people's story simply because I'm a nice person.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Double Vision's quest, July 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Double Vision: A Travelogue of Recovery from Ritual Abuse (Paperback)

This is a compassionate and brave book about a woman's journey to heal from the incest and ritual abuse she experienced as a child and young adult. Stylistically, the writing is beautiful in a way that illuminates yet does not mask the brutality of her past experiences. This is important because the eloquence of her language captures that which is most critical to a survivor's work: the dignity and heart of the spirit and a refusal to surrender to monsters under the bed and shadows in the night. Instead, the author dances with her demons and her dreams in a way that I find touching and haunting. My praise is unapologetically lauditory, because I can honestly say that this book has touched me more deeply than probably any other I have read about healing from sexual abuse and trauma, and one that all of us on a journey to heal can benefit from. The author puts responsiblity where it belongs (on those who abused her) yet takes self-responsibilty for her own healing quest. If you are a survivor of severe sexual or ritual abuse, or someone who wants to understand a survivor, as well as understand the complexity of the "dual" worlds of order and chaos in a family where abuse occurs, you will surely find something in this book which can feed and fuel heart, mind, and self.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Without manipulation, cliche, or easy formula., February 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Double Vision: A Travelogue of Recovery from Ritual Abuse (Paperback)

I read a lot of books, and this is the best one I've read in a long time. The courage, honesty, wit and wisdom displayed with such grace and talent by the writer is rare and impressive. Double Vision deals with the range of human experience in a clear and loving manner, without manipulation, cliche, or easy formula. In light of the recent vicious, and ill-considered, backlash against issues of childhood trauma and the recovering of those memories, I can be nothing but awed by the courage it took to write this book and the courage it took to publish it. My heartfelt congratulations, therefore, to the author and the editor in charge of this project.