Books
We have found the books listed below to be helpful for survivors, pastors, parents, and anyone else wanting to know more about child sexual abuse. We have also added a few titles which address domestic violence, because abuse rarely happens in a vacuum. While the Greiners can recommend these books, our recommendation does not mean that we endorse all that the authors may write or say in these books or others. Speak Your Light receives no commission or other financial incentives for the sale of these books.
How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores
When someone suffers through trauma, can healing happen? And, if yes, how does it happen? Dr. Diane Langberg tackles these complex and difficult questions with the insights she has gained through more than forty years of counseling those whose lives have been destroyed by trauma and abuse. Her answer carefully explained in Suffering and the Heart of God is Yes, what trauma destroys, Christ can and does restore.
RID OF MY DISGRACE
One in four women and one in six men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. But as sobering as the statistics are, they don’t begin to speak to the darkness and grief experienced by these victims. Because sexual assault causes physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual pain, victims need clear help, hope, and healing. In Rid of My Disgrace, a married couple who are experienced in counseling victims of sexual assault explains how the grace of God can heal the broken and restore the disgraced.
SUFFERING AND THE HEART OF GOD
Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault
Invisible Target is a true, detailed account of one girl’s experience of educator sexual abuse at the hands of her middle school teacher. It follows her journey, beginning with her tumultuous childhood, meeting the teacher, and the grooming process he created to lure her into a false sense of trust and ultimate betrayal. After years of abuse and manipulation, she finally found the courage to bravely break away from her abuser.
Breaking the Cycle of Educator Sexual Abuse
INVISIBLE TARGET
For Churches and Ministries
Churches are supposed to be a safe haven, but many deal with the tragic reality of child sexual abuse. This handbook, written by a multidisciplinary team of child abuse experts, helps churches and faith communities formulate policies and procedures to protect children and address possible abuse in their ministries.
CHILD SAFEGUARDING POLICY GUIDE
GOD MADE ALL OF ME
God Made All of Me is a simply-told, beautifully-illustrated story to help families talk about these sensitive issues with two- to eight-year-old children. Because the private parts of our bodies are private, the home is the ideal environment where a child should learn about his or her body and how it should be treated by others.
A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies
TEAR DOWN THIS WALL OF SILENCE
Dealing with Sexual Abuse in Our Churches
Tear Down This Wall of Silence explores the character of the abuser, the true meaning of repentance and forgiveness, and how urgent it is for the church to open their eyes to the wounded and oppressed in their midst.
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? WHY GOD CARES ABOUT SEX
God's Design for Sex - Book 3
Written for children ages 8-11, What’s the Big Deal? helps kids find answers to their questions about sex. It explains the basic facts about sex, why God made adults so they want to have sex, what God says about sex in the Bible, and how to respond when faced with sexual pressure from peers, TV, movies, and magazines.
THE STORY OF ME
BEFORE I WAS BORN
God's Design for Sex - Book 2
Before I Was Born explains in age-appropriate language the basic nature of sexual intercourse between a husband and wife and discusses conception, fetal development, childbirth, and breastfeeding. For children ages 5 to 8.
A Tool for the Prevention of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Bobby Gilliam, our book for boys and Ana’s Song (also entitled Rise and Shine), our book for girls, will help you build a bridge of communication between yourself and the kids you love and long to protect. Please, read our stories. Begin the conversation. Build the bridge. Break the silence. So your children, like Bobby, the hero in Bobby Gilliam, Brave and Strong, and Ana, the heroine in Ana’s Song, are free to become all they were created to be.
Visit the Rise & Shine Movement web site to see a video of these books being read in either English or Spanish.
FACING THE FACTS: THE TRUTH ABOUT SEX AND YOU
God's Design for Sex - Book 4
Designed for children ages 11-14, Facing the Facts equips kids to understand and deal with the changes of puberty. It also examines why God intends sex for marriage, discusses love and dating, and answers tough questions about sexuality.
BOBBY GILLIAM BRAVE AND STRONG
Bobby Gilliam, our book for boys and Ana’s Song (also entitled Rise and Shine), our book for girls, will help you build a bridge of communication between yourself and the kids you love and long to protect. Please, read our stories. Begin the conversation. Build the bridge. Break the silence. So your children, like Bobby, the hero in Bobby Gilliam, Brave and Strong, and Ana, the heroine in Ana’s Song, are free to become all they were created to be.
Visit the Rise & Shine Movement web site to see a video of these books being read in either English or Spanish.
A Tool for the Prevention of Childhood Sexual Abuse
ANA'S SONG
MISS AMERICA BY DAY
Lessons Learned from Ultimate Betrayals and Unconditional Love
In this long-awaited book, Van Derbur, a former Miss America, tells the story of how she was sexually violated by her father from age 5 to 18. She was 53 years old before she was able to speak the words in public: "I am an incest survivor." She opened the door for tens of thousands of sexual abuse survivors to also speak the words, many for the first time, within their families and communities.
UNHOLY CHARADE
Unmasking the Domestic Abuser in the Church
Pastor and author Jeff Crippen presents the Church with a work steeped in Scripture that lays before us a map of the abusive mind, the tactics of abuse, the effects abuse has on its victims, and the tragic way our churches have failed the victims of this sin. He issues a clarion call for those who love Christ to answer the call to love the oppressed and speak for the victims, as Proverbs 31:9 says: "Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy."
PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ABUSE
How is your church ministering to children in your congregation who have experienced sexual abuse? Jesus told us that whoever received a child in his name received him (Matt. 18:5). Is this the guiding principle that informs how your congregation cares for its most vulnerable members? Is your church armed with compassion and a care plan for these survivors, or are you somehow communicating insignificance to them?
From his years of experience as a child abuse prosecutor, Boz Tchividjian unpacks the dynamics of a church environment that allows perpetrators to thrive and offers constructive help for educating and training your church to recognize and deal with potential abuse. Using biblical principles and the example of Jesus, he shows you how to cultivate an attitude and environment in your church that provides safety and protection for these young ones.
Mini-Book
Mini-Book
Are you ministering to someone whose trauma of sexual abuse has shattered their trust in God? Do you see them wrestling with the dichotomy between what they are told about God and the bitter facts of their wounds? If the abuse happened when they were a child, they may have a particularly fractured understanding of trust, truth, and love. How can you begin to reach out to them? What do you need to understand about their pain?
THE SPIRITUAL IMPACT OF ABUSE
Mini-Book
Pastors and church personnel often struggle to apply intentional and appropriate doses of both biblical grace and stringent accountability to victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Churches can regularly be prone to turn the tables on survivors by applying a heavy dosage of conviction to victims and misguided clemency toward perpetrators. The mishandling of abuse incidents in the church will drive victims away from the community of Christ and further embolden offenders, thus debasing the name of our Savior.