Books for men who have experienced sexual violation

Out of the Shadows: Help for Men Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted. Sarah Stott
"It will stimulate insights and free people to talk about their experiences and nightmares and help them understand and take a step forward. An outstanding, vital book which I thoroughly recommend to anyone who has been abused and does not know where to start."  Kilmarnock, Scotland

Victims no Longer:  The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse (Second Edition) Mike Lew.
"I am a Survivor of sexual abuse, and have recovered my life through therapy, and some hard personal work. But the personal work was so much easier with this remarkable book - Mike Lew's understanding of 'our' problems is second to none."  London, England

Abused boys: The Neglected victims of sexual abuse - Mic Hunter
"I read this book to help me gain perspective on my partner's childhood. It clarified for me the problems he is experiencing now, and why I couldn't get him to talk about what happened. Discussions of psychological theory are followed up with case histories"  California, USA

Broken Boys Mending Men: Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse. Stephen D.Grubman-Black
"This book opened my eyes to my past that my mind had blocked out. Most of my life I was seeking an illusion now there is some reality in my life. I was robbed of more than my innocence I lost most of my life. I now know there is more hope than I ever thought there was."  Washington, USA

Rescuing the Inner child: Therapy for adults sexually abused as children - Penny Parks

"As a former victim of incest I read this book with real fear that rapidly turned to hope and joy. Penny Parks gave me back my hope, my capacity for joy, my life. Read this book; take the first step to being whole."  Hampshire, England

The courage to heal workbook: For women and men survivors of child sexual abuse - Laura Davis

"As a survivor I bought this book with a little bit of hope, but not much. I have been pleasantly surprised. This is not patronising, is not full of irrelevant statistics and nor is it about wallowing in self pity and pain. This book is becoming a source of a lot of change in my life."  London, England

Beginning to heal: A first book for men and women who were sexually abused as children - Ellen Bass, Laura Davis

It takes you through the key stages of the healing process, from crisis times to breaking the silence, grief, and anger, to resolution and moving on. Includes inspirational highlights, practical suggestions and compelling accounts of survivors' pain, their strength, and triumphs.   (Publisher Comment)

Beyond Betral: Taking charge of your life after boyhood sexual abuse - Richard Gartner

An important book on an important topic. Beyond Betrayal explores a once-taboo topic -- the sexual victimization of boys and young men by clergy, parents, relatives, caretakers, and other trusted adults. The book includes their stories as well as practical ways a survivor can recover his sense of self and take charge of his sexuality, his future, and his self-esteem. The book also includes advice for the families and loved ones of abused boys. (publisher comment).

Male on Male Rape: Michael Scarce

This book helped me to aknowledge my own abuse and lessen the shame I felt for a long time. I didn't think others had had the same kind things happen to them, and I began to finally look at all that had happened to me. I found a lot of striking similarities in the various stories. I had no idea how prevalent sexual abuse really is. May all abuse victims find solace and find a way through the pain and shame and derive some healing (Anonymous comment).

Books for partners and carers of men who have experienced sexual violation

Allies in Healing - When the person you love was sexually abused as a child.  Laura Davis

"Though I loved my partner very much, I was often confused and hurt in our relationship. Not sure why the distance and odd behaviors happened, and lacking the knowledge or words to discuss it, the roller coaster ride was often more than I could handle. This book was a god send. It explained what was happening and why."  San Francisco, USA

Partners in Recovery - How mates, lovers and other prosurvivors can learn to support and cope with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.  Beverly Engel.
"Child abuse expert Engel gently guides readers through seven stages of recovery, including what to expect from one another and how to live through difficult times. Separating myth from truth, Engel explains a three-part process that aids in understanding,"  Publisher Comment

Ghosts in the bedroom:  A guide for partners of incest survivors- Ken Graber
"This was the first book I read on the subject - I am a survivor. It quickly made me realise the enormity of the situation and my husband who is now reading it is become more aware daily of the effects of incest abuse. Its length and clearly defined topics"  Edinburgh, Scotland

How Long Does it Hurt?: A Guide to Recovering from Incest and Sexual Abuse for Teenagers, Their Friends, and Their Families - Cynthia L Mather
This book is a very understandable book for all ages, especially adults who are recovering their memories. This book is meant for young adults and it is highly appreciated, for there are not many books out for teens and young adults. I like this book because it is meant for guys and gals, one isn't singled out. This book helps to explains things for other family members and friends to understand what their dear person is dealing with. I have recommended this book for others and I hope they get really important facts out of it too (Anonymous).

Family Fallout - A handbook for families of adult sexual abuse survivors.  Dorothy Landry

"This book is a good first step when confronting parents or family members about childhood sexual abuse. It was helpful to have something that would help them understand what I had just told them. When parents live in denial you need a simple guide to help get through to them. I found this book to be such a tool."
Sydney, Australia

Books for professionals

Counselling Survivors of Childhood sexual abuse (counselling in practice series) - Claire Burke Draucker
"Claire Burke Draucker's guide identifies the healing processes vital to the achievement of recovery from childhood sexual abuse. These include: disclosing the abuse, focusing on the abuse experience, reinterpreting abuse from an adult perspective." (Publisher Synopsis)

Narrative approaches to working with Adult male Survivors of childhood sexual abuse; the client’s, the counsellors and the researcher’s story.  Kim Etherington
Presents first-hand accounts from two male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and from the counsellor who worked with them. The two brothers suffered severe sexual abuse from their father and were each unaware of the other's ordeal. The author describes the counsellor's perspective, and draws out the implications for counselling practice. She discusses the client-counsellor relationship, the techniques and approaches she used and makes links with her other work.   (Publisher comment.)

Healing Tasks - Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse.  James Kepner

"This book explained the impact of the childhood abuse and neglect that I experienced and gave me a concrete set of ideas about how to heal. I recommend it to all those who are adult survivors as well as those who work at healing them." (Anonymous Comment)

Gay men and childhood sexual trauma: Integrating the shattered self. Ed James Cassese.

Eye opening and extremely compelling...of critical importance to every clinician who treats gay men." - Michael Shernoff, Graduate School of Social Work, New York "Excellent...thought-provoking. Therapists who work with gay men will be grateful to have such a comprehensive resource." - Rik Isensee, author of Reclaiming Your Life

Male Victims of Sexual Assault. Mezey/King.

This work reports on the first epidemiological study of male sexual victimization in Europe and challenges the stereotype of gay men as sexual predators. It discusses male rape in prisons, anthropological background, legislation and links between early sexual victimization and later perpetration. (Publisher comment).  

The Male Survivor: The Impact of Sexual abuse - Matthew Parynik Mendel

"This book carefully explicates the specific social and psychological issues faced by men who were abused as children. Dr. Mendel has written a clinically useful volume, balancing research with case histories and psychological theory with social analysis."  University of Southern California School of Medicine, USA

Betrayed as boys: psychodynamic treatment of sexually abused men. Richard B Gartner
Gartner's work deconstructs sexuality in ways that a layman (like me) can understand. He then takes its components and explains how each of them is affected when a boy experiences sexual abuse. He shows us the myriad of possibilities a therapist might face in the adult who emerges from that abuse. And, bravely, he shows us the therapist as a human being who doubts, rejoices, struggles -- all while working in the (often highly charged) moment with the patient. (Anonymous comment)

The Merry-go round of sexual abuse: Identifying and treating Survivors. William E Prendergrast.
The Merry-Go-Round of Sexual Abuse is a valuable guide to identifying, treating, and breaking the cycle of sexual abuse. Based on 30 years of professional experience in treating offenders and survivors of sexual assault and sexual molestation, Dr. Prendergast provides step-by-step guidelines and specialized treatment techniques most effective in producing change in this group of clients. Each technique is illustrated with pertinent case studies. This is a much-needed guide for professionals who often lack specific training in the identification and treatment of both offenders and survivors of sexual abuse.  (Publisher comment).

Psychodynamic Perspectives on Abuse: The cost of fear. Una McClusky, Carol-Ann Hopper.

Abuse is defined broadly and considered as a widespread phenomenon with a variety of manifestations and contexts. Its consequences, and the responses it may provoke, are discussed in detail with reference to three areas. In the personal context, the impact of abuse on an individual's development, emotional life and ability to participate in society is addressed. In the workplace, where the focus is upon working relationships and organizational goals, abuse may cause stress, undermine effectiveness and lead to legal redress: thus it involves a different set of problems and requires different treatment. In relation to society as a whole, the threat which abuse poses and the factors which determine policy are evaluated. (Publisher comment).  

From Pain to Violence: The traumatic roots of destructiveness.  Felicity du Zuluetta
Violence is all around us; yet, despite its widespread prevalence, we remain unclear about its causes. In this book Felicity de Zuluetta - begins by defining "violence" as distinct from "aggression", and then attempts to trace its origins, highlighting the polarization between those who believe mankind to be innately violent and those who see violence as the outcome of man's life experiences. As a result of her investigations, the author suggests that the current high level of violence may well be linked to the effects of childhood and adult trauma which appear to be far more widespread than has hitherto been acknowledged. These findings are relevant to understanding why "normal" people can become violent in certain conditions. This is a second edition and has been fully updated. A new chapter on terrorism has been added.  (Publisher comment)

Male Rape the emergence of a social and legal issue.  Noreen Abdullah-Khan.

'Although the topic of male rape is receiving increasing research interest in the forensic, clinical and social psychological literature, there are currently very few academic texts relating to this issue. I applaud Dr. Abdullah-Kahn for under-taking this timely and potentially very useful book.'  Dr. Michelle Davies, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, UK

Male Rape: Ritchie McMullen

McMullen became aware of how hidden and unreported this crime was and how deeply scarred it left its victims. He realised that the taboo had to be brought out into the open and youth workers and counsellors needed to know how to respond to victims and help them move on from the self-loathing that often followed an attack.

This book - widely acknowledged as the first on its subject - was the result. His research confirmed the notion that rape is not about sex but about power. And far from being a straight nightmare about predatory homosexuals, it was most often a crime carried out by heterosexuals on gay men - linked to bullying and to a violent masculinity that wanted to assert itself over what was seen as weak or effeminate.

(This book is out of print but it is possible to find it second hand).