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A review by nina_cooper
Invisible Girls: The Truth About Sexual Abuse--A Book for Teen Girls, Young Women, and Everyone Who Cares About Them by Patti Feuereisen, Caroline Pincus
5.0
“If you are not a sexual-abuse survivor, you may be wondering how on earth girls get through such experiences, but if you are a survivor, you probably understand all too well.” (Feuereisen, Patti. Invisible Girls: The Truth about Sexual Abuse. Kindle-Version).
Yes, that’s true. And it makes me so sad, angry and frustrated that there is a need for these books at all. That being said, Feuereisen’s book can be incredibly helpful for survivors who want to work through their pain, and it also is something that people who want to support survivors should read.
Feuereisen is a well-known psychotherapist and leading expert on sexual abuse, with many years of professional experience in helping girls and women, and in Invisible Girls you can see this at work. Whether it is the way she explains problems and situations or the way she lets victims of abuse talk and adds her own perspective, Feuereisen’s explanations and statements are clear, empathetic and supportive.
One point she keeps coming back to is how she sees what is clinically known as disassociation, a kind of mental escape from the threatening situation you are in. While the gruesome reality harms them, some girls and women create their own worlds in these moments, a place with positive connotations, basically a place that allows them n o t to feel. Feuereisen stresses how this is a valid and positive way of surviving mentally when you cannot physically get out of the violent abuse situation.
Just imagine yourself after sexual abuse and you hear someone allude that you are crazy because you tried to block out what was going on when it happened. For me, something like this happening is just like an additional slap in the face, and it is why I love Feuereisen’s far more positive approach so much, because she listens to the girl or woman and takes a valid strategy of survival seriously.
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you were crazy for leaving your body. Just know that you were taking care of yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you this is denial. It is survival. When we’re so unsafe, we have to create our own safety.” (Feuereisen, Patti. Invisible Girls: The Truth about Sexual Abuse. Kindle-Version).
You can see Patti Feuereisen’s expertise throughout the book, and she knows very well how to tackle such a terrible topic in a way that is meant to help survivors and those who want to support them.
6 out of 5 stars.
Yes, that’s true. And it makes me so sad, angry and frustrated that there is a need for these books at all. That being said, Feuereisen’s book can be incredibly helpful for survivors who want to work through their pain, and it also is something that people who want to support survivors should read.
Feuereisen is a well-known psychotherapist and leading expert on sexual abuse, with many years of professional experience in helping girls and women, and in Invisible Girls you can see this at work. Whether it is the way she explains problems and situations or the way she lets victims of abuse talk and adds her own perspective, Feuereisen’s explanations and statements are clear, empathetic and supportive.
One point she keeps coming back to is how she sees what is clinically known as disassociation, a kind of mental escape from the threatening situation you are in. While the gruesome reality harms them, some girls and women create their own worlds in these moments, a place with positive connotations, basically a place that allows them n o t to feel. Feuereisen stresses how this is a valid and positive way of surviving mentally when you cannot physically get out of the violent abuse situation.
Just imagine yourself after sexual abuse and you hear someone allude that you are crazy because you tried to block out what was going on when it happened. For me, something like this happening is just like an additional slap in the face, and it is why I love Feuereisen’s far more positive approach so much, because she listens to the girl or woman and takes a valid strategy of survival seriously.
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you were crazy for leaving your body. Just know that you were taking care of yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you this is denial. It is survival. When we’re so unsafe, we have to create our own safety.” (Feuereisen, Patti. Invisible Girls: The Truth about Sexual Abuse. Kindle-Version).
You can see Patti Feuereisen’s expertise throughout the book, and she knows very well how to tackle such a terrible topic in a way that is meant to help survivors and those who want to support them.
6 out of 5 stars.