Other Looking for book recommendations on torture recovery

[Beachlife09]

Okay so there are a million PTSD, Abuse, and Sexual Abuse recovery books that I've found (and bought), but I can't find any on torture recovery or any for torture survivors. Am I missing them, or are there just not any written?

If some exist, I would greatly appreciate some recommendations! :D

 

[Momofthree]

I did a Google search of "Torture survivors books" there are a bunch of them in the 'shopping' tab. Some are personal stories and some are academic books. I hope that helps :)

 

[Beachlife09]

@Momofthree Thank you! I'll try to go do that! :tup:

 

[Anarchy]

Judith Herman's book "trauma and recovery" cites some stuff on torture, abduction and political prisoners. I'll see if I can find the citations and see if they are books or academic papers.

I'm not sure that there's anything specific to torture that you won't also find in complex traumas resulting from abuse.

 

[Beachlife09]

@Anarchy Thank you, I will check that one out.

I'm not sure that there's anything specific to torture that you won't also find in complex traumas resulting from abuse.

I actually haven't thought of looking at complex trauma books, don't know why I haven't thought of it before :facepalm:
A lot of similar things are covered in abuse books, but they don't deal with the aspects of "imprisonment" or the level of extreme psychological affects that come exclusively from torture. (Not trying to down grade the seriousness of abuse though.)

 

[Friday]

A lot of similar things are covered in abuse books, but they don't deal with the aspects of "imprisonment" or the level of extreme psychological affects that come exclusively from torture. (Not trying to down grade the seriousness of abuse though.)

Yeah... Feeling like you're a prisoner versus actually being one? Very different kettle of fish. At least in my experience, too, fairly opposite reactions. The tendency to keep being "trapped" when one actually isn't, versus a bad/ almost pernicious habit of simply walking away from situations one might should stay in, simply because one can. Gun to me head? Nope? See ya. Neither being a healthy reaction. As well as the accepting responsibility for schtuff that isn't necessarily ours, because since we can walk away and are choosing not to, that puts the ball in our court.

 

[Springer80]

Hi, one the most fundamentally important books that I've ever read and that had a very meaningful impact on my life was Brian Keenan's 'An Evil Cradling'.
Google him, he was an Irish teacher who went to the Lebanon and was taken hostage for nearly five years. It's not an account of all the gory details but a narrative about the turmoil he went through and what made him survive it.

Frankly everyone should read it as an insight into humanity.

 

[Friday]

Oh... Dead Link Removed Is the book I'm working my way through, at present.

 

[joeylittle]

This was brought to my attention by @Hashi - it's an old format for a website, so make sure you scroll all the way down to get the other chapters:
The Psychology of Torture

 

[Beachlife09]

Yeah... Feeling like you're a prisoner versus actually being one? Very different kettle of fish.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

As well as the accepting responsibility for schtuff that isn't necessarily ours, because since we can walk away and are choosing not to, that puts the ball in our court.

Yes, while I can understand the entrapping fear from abuse, you could at some point physically get away (in most cases anyway). But when you're locked in a room, and/or chained or tied down, you don't have even the opportunity to escape. And that's one of the parts where the abuse books differ. Another being captors (or tormentors) have the goal of interrogating, breaking, or rehabilitating you, abusers don't have that kind of goal in mind. Like I said, there's a level of extremity that simply isn't in "average" abuse that's in torture. And those books certainly don't cover it.
@FridayJones Thanks, I'll look that book up as well! :)

 

[Beachlife09]

@Springer80 Thank you, I'll try and find it!

@joeylittle I think I read that before actually! But I'll look at it again, thank you :hug:

 

[Springer80]

Thank you, I'll try and find it!

Hope you do :tup: