Customer Reviews

How Long Does it Hurt?: A Guide to Recovering from Incest and Sexual Abuse for Teenagers, Their Friends, and Their Families

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a therapist with a private clinical practice, working primarily with adolescents and women of all ages who are survivors of some form of trauma, including sexual abuse and incest. I have to say, that this is the book I use most, with all ages, including women who are uncovering and dealing with painful abuse memories. Over and over I hear clients proclaim that the book and quotes from other survivors help them not feel so alone and to also understand better what happened to them and to know there is hope. Also, the way in which the author discloses her own incest history and recovery is refreshing and hopeful and establishes a climate of credibility and trust. In my 20 years of clinical practice and training, I have aquired and read $1000's of dollars worth of trauma books and materials and this book sits as one of the top and most frequently used resources. Also, there is a children's book called "BRAVE BART" which has been a wonderful resource for adult survivors as well as children and adolescent survivors.
D.
(Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor)

This book is great. I started reading books on the subject of sexual abuse when I was 15 (when I told) and am now 19. I have read all of the popular book out there on this subject (paticularly The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass) and have found others helpful, but none of them have ever compared to How Long Does it Hurt. It helped me a lot to realize that what happened to me was horrific and was really abuse and that it was okay for me to feel the things that I did. I'd recommend this book to any and every survivor out there. Teenager or not. It very well could be a lifesaver.

I bought this book two years ago at age 18. It has become a type of bible for me. It answered all the questions that were swarming around in my head and let me know I wasn't alone. I've highlighted passages to discuss with my therapist or my family and I re-read it regularly. I recommend it to anyone who has has or knows someone who has been abused.

I work as a Treatment Specialist in a Residential Program for Teenage Girls and recently utilized this book as part of the Survivors Curriculum which we offer at our facility. The girls with whom I work report that this book helped them more than any other resource which we offered. They suggested that the things which they liked best were: 1/ The book walked them through some of the processes and stages of their movement toward healing and, 2/ It gave them a sense of control over what had happened to them because it answered a lot of their questions about the legal processes involved in disclosure, things to expect from family members and how to continue to pursue healing.

It was remarkable for me to see one young woman pass the book on to various girls within the program who were otherwise afraid to ask for help and to share the book with them. I think that the authors have done a wonderful job of making information accessible to both young women and older women alike in an appealing format which a reader can return to again and again when questions arise.

This book explains all aspects of what incest is and what incest is not. It answers all the questions your extended family will ask, the way they will respond to the news, and what to do about it. I feel it is very important to have all family members read this book before you talk to them about the incest. It will answer many of their questions before they need to be asked. This will reduce the amount of stupid talk and unnessesary pain, guilt and anger that is associated with the victim after they hear of the stupid talk uninformed people make. If one of the worst nightmare's possible has happened to one of your children then please get this book, read it, pass it on to your family members before you talk to them about it and save your child from being victimized any more.

This book is a very understandable book for all ages, especially adults who are recovering their memories. This book is meant for young adults and it is highly appreciated, for there are not many books out for teens and young adults. I like this book because it is meant for guys and gals, one isn't singled out. This book helps to explains things for other family members and friends to understand what their dear person is dealing with. I have recommended this book for others and I hope they get really important facts out of it too.

Great book, I've read a lot of books on this topic and especially ones targeted towards young adults. This is another book that I highly recommend because: it's easy to read, it practically speaks to you and you can finish it within afew hours, it's style is appealling to teenagers and young adults.
Also it's directed towards girls and boys, it's style should also interest guys to read it and benefit.
Another good book I recommend for girls is "invisible girls" by Dr. Patti Feuereisen.

this is the best reference book for teens facing sexual abuse that i have found, and i have found several. it is also very, very helpful for a parent/parents.

I am a child abuse investigator and I am constantly seeking new information and also resources to share with clients and co-workers. This book is great for teenagers to read as well as their parents. It has given me more tools to use and reminded me of factors related to sexual abuse that help kids to recover. I recommend that parents of child who are abused or even adults with past issues read this book. I bought three of them! Bonnie Sorlie

I really liked this book, but I had to give it only three stars because of the language in it. A lot of the verbiage seemed almost patronizing, but I think for a younger audience, this would be perfect. Some of the points in the book were very good, and some of the parts (especially in chapters 10 and 11) really felt like was talking to me directly.

What I liked most about this book, however, was that it includes boys a lot throughout the book. I think this is an important aspect that not a lot of books touch on. I think with the statistics being so hard to come by for boys, there is a lot more difficulty for boys to tell and feel like they are not the only ones out there that this might be happening to. For that alone this book should get five stars. I would highly recommend this book to any adolescent, especially males!