6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book on a crucial and often-overlooked subject, September 29, 2008
This review is from: Survivor Moms: Women's Stories of Birthing, Mothering and Healing after Sexual Abuse (Paperback)
Conceiving, bearing, and raising a child are amazing miracles and provide countless gifts to parents. However, these momentuous events and changes can be enormously challenging for many of us.
This book touches specifically on the challenges faced by moms who have been the victims of -- or rather, are now survivors of -- sexual abuse. The very nature of pregnancy, birth, and parenting can raise long-buried demons or even exacerbate ones that are actively being dealt with.
As a survivor mom, I was so relieved to find that this book even existed -- there is precious little written about this subject. Some of my experiences with care providers during my first pregnancy -- and experiences during and after childbirth -- had left me feeling unheard, violated, and/or emotionally upset.
This book was reassurance that I was not alone, that my experiences and feelings were "normal," and that I had a right to be treated gently and respectfully during pregnancy, childbirth and beyond. It has also been an amazing source of strength for me as I read other womens' stories, learn about ways to cope with the issues brought on by the abuse I experienced, and as I use my ever-stronger resolve to be in a much stronger, healthier, aware place during my second pregnancy and birth.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Survivor Moms Speak Out!, July 7, 2009
This review is from: Survivor Moms: Women's Stories of Birthing, Mothering and Healing after Sexual Abuse (Paperback)
Sexual abuse affects a woman's entire life. Survivor Moms: Women's Stories of Birthing, Mothering and Healing after Sexual Abuse forges into areas that are in early stages of research: how the effects of abuse trauma and posttraumatic stress affect women who are bearing children, parenting, and health issues that center around healing from sexual abuse. It moves us solidly ahead in both understanding and providing support for the difficult healing journey that sexually abused women travel.
The intent of Survivor Moms is two-fold: to be a resource for healing abused women and to assist professionals who work with these women. Authors Mickey Sperlich and Julia Seng acknowledge the issues are intense and reading the book may be difficult. They present the material in three separate, but simultaneous ways. As the authors' text flows, the women's stories are interjected and italicized, while supportive resources are enclosed in side bars. This provides easy visual access to the information the reader seeks. For example, a survivor might choose to simply read other survivor's stories in order to validate her own experiences. A therapist may lean toward the narrative and resource references.
Pregnancy, labor and birth, postpartum and breastfeeding, mothering and attachment, and healing and survivorship are examined covered. Here is an excerpt from Chapter One: Life Before Mothering. It opens with Kay's story:
"So here I am. Pregnant with another boy. This will be our third. I never thought that I would be the mother to little boys. When I was younger, whenever I pictured myself with kids, I always pictured girls. Perhaps it was because it was familiar to me because, being a girl myself, I could relate and understand what it was like to be a female. Well, at least that's what I tell myself.
From infancy to my early teenage years I was sexually abused by a man. Namely, my father. I can remember being terrified by any male, very early on, because I knew what they were capable of doing to me..."
Survivor Moms brims with courage, wisdom, and honesty. The book concludes by stating that more research is needed. Sperlich and Seng have been intimately involved with survivors through their midwifery practices and have heard their stories. Sperlich tells us, "...many accounts address how pregnancy and birth were affected, but overall, the message of these stories is that abuse, and the reactions women have to abuse, affect the whole life of the mother, from thinking about having children all the way to being a grandmother, and that the effects are far-reaching and deeply felt."
by Mary Jo Doig
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read For Mothers Abused As A Child, August 17, 2009
This review is from: Survivor Moms: Women's Stories of Birthing, Mothering and Healing after Sexual Abuse (Paperback)
Survivor Moms is an excellent book for all mothers or mothers-to-be who were themselves abused as a child. For many survivors, it is not until a life-changing event occurs, such as having a child, do they look back at what happened to them and how it has affected their lives. Child sexual abuse impacts every aspect of a survivor's development: mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and sexually. Naturally, a woman about to begin her own journey with bringing a child into the world, will want to understand how her own abuse may impact the life of the child she is about to deliver. This book provides in-depth discussions about many issues that are usually dealt with in therapy. It also highlights individual survivor stories which describe a lot of the internal struggles mothers have to grapple with to deal with their past on the eve of a new journey. I would highly recommend Survivor Moms as both an adjunct to their therapy as well as hearing what other women have said who have dealt with the same issues.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
