Trauma Memoir

Linda Litteral is a survivor of incest and rape who used art to heal from the destruction to the body and spirit which comes from physical and sexual abuse. In this courageous memoir, Litteral shares the story of her abuse, spanning eight years of incest perpetrated by her grandfather, a rape she experienced in high school, and physical and verbal violence she suffered at the hands of her first husband.

Craig Thayer’s destiny was mapped before he was even born. Saved is the story of a man who learned to see the sum of his parts and follow them like stepping stones throughout a miraculous life. Being put up for adoption at birth and finding his family at nine months was just the start of his unorthodox journey.

This is an inspirational memoir and self-development book of a man who not only recovered from his Vietnam War wounds that blinded him but also from the force of darkness of self-pity, frustration, and despair. 

In 1999, Sierra Leone was in the midst of a brutal civil war where mindless violence, vicious amputation and the rape of young enslaved women were the everyday weapons of bloody conflict. It was also where rebel soldiers snatched the young Aminata Conteh-Biger from her father's arms, then held her captive for months. After she was released, the UNHCR recognised that her captors still posed a serious threat to her safety. So, still in her teens, she was put on a plane and flown to Australia to start afresh as a refugee in a land she knew nothing about.

The dream of joining the military after high school to serve the country other family members had honorably served takes a terrifying turn in her first assignment after boot camp. Authority Beyond Reproach tells the author's experience of physical, emotional, and sexual trauma from her superiors in the immediate chain of command.

A week after my 50th birthday, and just as our family was about to move home, something happened that changed the way I looked at life. I spoke to others about how they rebuilt their shattered worlds after very different personal traumas, emerging stronger than before. I hope our experiences, together with the latest science on resilience, will help guide all those going through tough times. This book says that it's possible not just to survive them but to thrive. To rise.

Rheumatoid arthritis was taking over my life. I could barely walk, dress myself, and perform simple daily tasks. I did everything I could to find healing. I tried all of the special diets; I was on all of the medications. Something wasn't right, and I was just getting sicker. This audiobook is about healing from the inside out. Your body is your greatest gift, dearest friend. The only difference between having a body that is your enemy and a body that is your friend is learning to speak its language. You can overcome chronic pain! You are worthy of a great life full of health and happiness!

In this insightful, emotional, and thought provoking memoir, fashion mogul Blake Martin bares his soul and guides his audience through his childhood trauma. Through entertaining stories and brutal honesty, Martin stands on the pedestal of his truth.

Surviving Lasts a Lifetime: A Parent's Journey Through Medical Trauma details the journey of a young mother who survives a near death experience against all odds. It chronicles the survival, recovery, and the difficult task of moving on, and integrating a new normal. Astrid wrote letters as a "guide to life" for her children in case she would not live to teach them to her own children, as the trauma brought into sharp focus life's great questions about love, family, and purpose.

This sequel to Welcome to Vietnam, Macho Man digs deep into the mind of a Khe Sanh vet. The author, Ernest Spencer, opens up and shares with the world his life experiences from both before and after surviving the longest battle in the Vietnam War. How does wartime service change a person? Ernest shares his struggles with finding a place to fit back into the American Dream. Some, like the author, transition back into society very well in the eyes of the world, yet the demons deep inside are grappled with daily.

As a true story told through dual perspectives, a powerful love ignites amidst the chaos in a combat zone between Baghdad and Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Two young soldiers from completely different lives unite together on a deployment - mostly under the privacy of mosquito netting, since fraternization was frowned upon. Jennifer was more timid about needing to keep their relationship private, whereas Ryan didn’t take well to orders and was rather experienced in manipulating the system.

As a deeply authentic and heartfelt collection of harrowing true stories and reflections on sexual trauma, Echoes is a powerful anthology that seeks to shed light on the painful reality faced by male survivors of sexual abuse, along with the lasting mental and emotional scars that so many men carry with them. Compiling dozens of poignant real-life accounts, this groundbreaking book will open the hearts and minds of listeners, offering male survivors a safe place to find solace from their pain and begin building a road map on their journey to wholeness.

When the Bible talks about the third- and fourth-generational curse, that's so true. If the curse is not broken by you, then who will stop it dead in its tracks? Fierce Wholeness: Finding Myself After Childhood Emotional Trauma is Robin's story—in all of its raw and messy but authentic and beautiful transparency—as she seeks to repair the dam that had been busted, the riverbed that had been washed away, the landscape that had been obliterated by her family of origin. Listeners who grew up in the clutches of the branches of emotional abuse will be empowered by Robin's story.

This Boy and His Mother: Healing from Trauma as a Gay Latter-day Saint chronicles Preston Jenkins' journey back to faith and activity in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Speaking with authenticity, Preston offers gospel insights gleaned from his experiences involving same-sex attraction, sexual and emotional abuse, an early return from an LDS mission, mental illness, and the eventual completion of a mission. Hope, faith, and never-failing charity are strikingly displayed. So, too, is the sufficient grace of Jesus Christ to holistically heal all wounds.

It took me 37,287 words to describe the impact sexual trauma in the military has had on my life. It has taken me over 30 years to come to terms with my experience where I can now write about it and speak about it. I want to educate people about rape in the military. Perhaps I will be able to help others by sharing my experience. To keep silent just perpetuates the violence and reinforces the culture of rape that has been accepted in the military. My insight in this book will be helpful to both practitioners helping veterans and to other veterans suffering from sexual trauma as well.

Georgiana White isn’t a self-help guru or spiritual leader. She doesn’t have a degree in psychology, nor is she a licensed therapist. But, she is an expert in survival. In Whispers of Hope, she narrates her story, a story of hope and resilience of the human spirit. Beginning in her childhood and continuing through the years, White shares the lessons she’s learned during her journey as she unravels the memories of trauma.

Those in uniform keep our world safe and often pay a high price for fulfilling their duty mentally and emotionally. Retired Sergeant Eric Weaver can attest to this, as he lives with mental illness and struggled with the issue of suicide on numerous occasions, including multiple hospitalizations, while serving as a police sergeant. In Overcoming the Darkness, he gives a raw accounting of his own experiences coupled with knowledge and pragmatic advice gained from 20 years of instructing literally thousands in law enforcement about mental illness, substance use, PTSD, and suicide.

With 30 years of experience as a nursing home administrator, Natalie Zeleznikar was no stranger to the strengths and limitations of health care. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, the plan was a double mastectomy and a couple months to recovery. Her reality was eight total hospitalizations in five years after nearly dying - not of cancer, but of sepsis. With a unique perspective blending the experiences of a patient and a health care worker, The Scars You Can’t See follows Natalie’s journey of struggle and survival.

A gifted young man endured a tormented childhood at the hands of his mentally troubled adoptive mother. Told that his birthmother had died to give him life, he shouldered the blame yet still found the strength to attempt the impossible. With a week’s worth of clothes and a guitar, he left his small town for New York City to make his mark as a singer/songwriter.

Finding your place in a family tree that has only one branch, the other shorn by the Holocaust, is a tricky business. Gail Weiss Gaspar grew up believing that her worth was tied to busyness and productivity, with achievement and education prized above all other accomplishments.