Frustrated By Lack Of Books About Adult Sexual Trauma

[jmni]

(intimate partner abuse, sexual self image, etc)

I have been reading a lot of self help books lately. Some of them have been very helpful and I feel as though I am nearing the roots of my pain. I have learned a lot too which I know will be useful in the future.

But I have been trying to find books on the subject of sexual trauma and I am not a victim of childhood sexual abuse but it seems like 99.9% of books on this subject are directly related to childhood sexual trauma. Meanwhile I have been on many forums and so many of us are tortured by the memories and after affects of sexual abuse we have experienced at the hands of our intimate partners as adults. So where are the books on that subject. I have found maybe 5 books that deal with healing from sexual assault and the effects of the modern dating scene. Most of them are Christian based and I can still appreciate the value of that. But this is very one sided considering that many people do not wait until marriage to become sexually active. When I was in my 20s I can say that I really didn't know what I was doing and I have a lot of regret. At this point I am still alone and I would like to have the assistance of a book written by a professional to help myself. But I am at a loss. It seems like I will have to refer to the books about childhood sexual trauma and that is very off the mark.

I wonder if this is because there is more funding for the big issues and less for the smaller equally significant medical problems.

Can anyone make some recommendations. Am I searching for the wrong thing?

 

[Hashi]

Hi jmni,

I don't know if they're relevant to you (or if they're any good) but there are some book recommendations on this site:

Link Removed

 

[WillyKat]

Judith Herman's "Trauma and Recovery" covers both child sexual abuse and adult. I suppose that you already have that on your list.

I found it to be really helpful. My only complaint is that its written at an almost academic level and therefore less useful than it could be unless you are (or were in my case) an academic. I tend to get glassy-eyed whenever I see the term "dialectic" even though I'm very familiar with the term.

 

[jmni]

Willykat, I had seen that but did not include it on my list because it had "political terror" in the title. I know what you mean. I prefer self help books that are more empathetic to the reader.

Hashi, that is a great list. I will look through it.