When Battered Women Kill [Paperback]

Angela Browne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 1989

A compassionate look at 42 battered women who felt "locked in with danger and so desperate that they killed a man they loved"; scholarly and compelling.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Browne is a psychologist at the University of New Hampshire's Family Violence Research Center. Her book is the culmination of six years devoted to in-depth interviewing of 250 brutalized wives, including 42 whose despair drove them to kill their husbands. The author's professional objectivity does not lessen the dramatic impact of the many accounts she includes of women repeatedly beaten by their spouses. More than 1.5 million women seek medical treatment each year because of assault by a male partner, but the few who kill to escape this torture are judged harshly and sentenced to prison. This is an important book that should force public action to help victims and victimizersboth of whom are equally unable to help themselves. Prentice Hall Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A compassionate look at 42 battered women who felt "locked in with danger and so desperate that they killed a man they loved"; scholarly and compelling. (LJ
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (March 10, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0029038812
• ISBN-13: 978-0029038819
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Abuse & Self Defense > Domestic Violence

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the cycle, January 10, 2001

By 

Sharon Silverman - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Battered Women Kill (Paperback)

This book outlines the well-documented psychological cycle that keeps women in abusive relationships: 1) period of slight tension 2) escalating tension 3) explosion, attack of mental and/or physical abuse 4) Honeymoon period: the perpetrator is sincerely apologetic, regrets his actions, often plys the victim with gifts and promises of "never again." 5) see 1

This works very, very well because a person who is traumatized is temporarily desperate for love. They crave comfort from any source - even the perp. Her vulnerability (following an attack) coincides with the abuser's promises and hugs. She gives him another chance.

This same dynamic occurs with kidnappers & hostages, as I'm sure you've heard.

The key to ensnaring the victim is a slow escalation. Most women, hit out of the blue, will be angry and leave. If their relationship progresses through mild verbal controls, etc, grabbing an arm, then slowly to a severe shaking... you can see how the cycle asserts itself gradually. It's that damn frog again: Drop one in a boiling pot and it'll leap out. Place it in cool water and heat it up slowly and it will sit there until boiled to death. Some people feel they have too much invested (a child, time, etc) to leave. Others have been abused or witnessed similar behavior with their parents, and may on a deep level think it's normal. Very sad.

The bad news about the escalation is that it almost never stops. Abuse, once started, continues until the victim leaves or is killed. Women who feel they can't leave tend to fight back with deadly force when a new boundry has been crossed: The first time he touches the daughter, for example.

1 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a very good person to buy from, February 5, 2003

By 

"jmjorda2" (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Battered Women Kill (Paperback)

The book is in OK shape. It was mailed 7 days after it was gauranteed to be shipped, seller never responded to emails. Would not recommend this seller if you are looking for prompt service. I was dissatisfied.