books about healing
The Hanged Man
by Francesca Lia Block
Incest, drug use, sex... in a YA novel?! Block is one of the most innovative and
lyric novelists to come on the scene in years. You might have read Weetzie Bat and
been amused by the cool ways she paints with slang. This book, however, takes us to
a whole new level of darkness and hope. True angst here . . . written with enough
honesty to send you reeling.
So Much to Tell You
by John Marsden
A very unsettling but riveting read about a young woman disfigured in a violent accident,
this one will leave you hungering for more when the book draws to a close. You know, it's
not about sexual abuse, but I think it would be a helpful book for survivors of abuse to read.
It's a perfect study in Post Traumatic Shock Syndrome. Marina's brave journey back to health
will speak to many people who have survived difficult childhoods.
She's Come Undone
by Wally Lamb
Where do our cravings come from? From the gnawing, empty wounds left inside us? What makes
us hungry? Sorrow? Our empty hearts? Delores Price is a wise-cracking, tough-talking, 13-year-old
cynic when we first meet her, and she's stuffing her face like there's no tomorrow. Food,
she hopes, will fill the void that she tries to hide with sarcasm. As her teenage
years come to a close, she's ballooned to 257 pounds, and the junk food hasn't made her any
wiser or any more whole. Instead of giving up on life itself, Delores gives herself one more
chance to figure out how the world works and what will truly -- once and for all -- fill her
hunger. Leaving the television and oreos behind, Delores embarks on a tender, painful journey of
reckoning. Oprah loved it and made it one of "her books." Frankly, I am convinced that I loved
this story even more than Oprah. (!) I wish I would have read this book when I was 17 and starving for
a way to navigate the void inside of me.
Not the End of the World
by Rebecca Stowe
Twelve-years-old and precocious, Maggie Pittsfield is rolling like a freight train down into
the darkest tunnels of depression. A secret scandal in her past is ripping her apart,
splintering her soul. Sometimes she doesn't know who she is... or what exactly happened
to her. Hang tight! This is an absorbing, honest exploration of how we can come to face
the truth.
When She Hollers
by Cynthia Voigt
This novel takes place during a single day -- the day that Tish decides that her stepfather
will never touch her again. Voigt brings us right inside Tish's mind as she threatens her
stepfather with a knife and then goes to school -- with her secret exploding beneath the
surface of her skin. A very brave and challenging story.
