Religious Issues (Christian)

Avery Brooke, Healing in the Landscape of Prayer (Cambridge MA: Cowley, 1996).

This is not a book about sexual abuse or about specific psychological issues. But for anyone who is a mainline Christian (not born again) it is an awfully good book about God's role in healing. It has a very wise chapter on "Exorcism and Deliverance" which takes evil seriously while making sure that the broad issues of healing are not replaced by quick fixes.

Joanne Ross Feldmeth and Midge Wallace Finley, We Weep for Ourselves and Our Children: A Christian Guide for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990).

What I liked best about this book was the authors' perspective on what the Christian tradition has to say about some of the key issues for survivors, such as grief, shame, and evil. They don't try to give easy answers. For example, they address but do not answer the question many of us struggle with about why God allowed the abuse to happen. Instead, they encourage survivors to understand that it is ok to be angry at God about the abuse. The last chapter, on "The Survivor and Wholeness" encourages survivors to care for the split-off parts of themselves but avoids defining these parts as multiple personalities, an approach that made me slightly uncomfortable. The book is organized around the stories of the participants in a support group, and it tends to focus on the importance of a support group in the healing process. The authors are part of an organization called Victims of Incest Recover Through Understanding, Education, and Support that organizes church-based support groups. For more information contact: VIRTUES, P.O. Box 602, Brea CA 92622-0602.

Catherine J. Foote, Survivor Prayers: Talking with God about Childhood Sexual Abuse (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994).

I've never quite known what to do with other people's prayers. But these read to me like poems more than prayers. This book meant a lot to me because it made me feel not so alone in feeling anger and abandonment and all those other feelings towards God--and she says them to God. She emphasizes holding abusers accountable, not forgiveness. She does not directly address multiplicity, but there is at least one prayer that is a dialog between inner voices.

Sue Monk Kidd, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1996).A listing with reviews.

This is another book not dealing specifically with sexual abuse or psychology, but it is an awfully good introduction to feminist spirituality. Kidd starts from Christianity, but she is very angry at the church for its role in the oppression of women and she goes looking for other forms of spiritual sustenance that will give women strength.

Mary D. Pellauer, Barbara Chester, and Jane Boyajian, eds., Sexual Assault and Abuse: A Handbook for Clergy and Religious Professionals (San Francisco: Harper Row, 1987).

If your clergyperson says really stupid things about abuse this is the book to recommend to him or her. It is good on issues like confidentiality and believing the victim, but there is not much that is likely to be directly useful to survivors.

M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983).

I avoided this book for awhile because someone had told me that the examples were too painful; but, in fact, I found them a lot less gruesome than many stories I have heard from multiples. Peck is a psychiatrist and a Christian, and he is trying to bring the two perspectives together. I found his acknowledgment of evil useful to me in moving towards believing that evil people hurt me when I was a child, it wasn't my fault. I also found helpful his emphasis on evil as a cover-up--that if we face our pain and the harm we do, then we move away from evil. On the other hand, his material on exorcism is dangerous (he tries to distinguish between multiple personality and possession but he defines multiple personality too narrowly) and his discussion of evil in Vietnam in particular, and the military in general, will offend some people. For a critical article about Peck with information on his life see: Peck's Other Road. For positive information see Phil's Unofficial Scott Peck Page.

Howard W. Whitaker, A Pastoral Commentary on Dissociative Disorders: A Primer for Pastoral Care (Chattanooga TN: Clinical Pastoral Services, 1994)

This is a discussion of DID from a mainline Christian point of view. Dr. Whitaker is an Episcopal priest. It is probably more useful for ministers who work with people who are DID than for multiples, but I would recommend it if you are struggling with bad experiences with a Christian counselor (because he has a good discussion of the differences between different Christian approaches) or as a source of relevant bible references and theological ideas.

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