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Sating the Preta: A Memoir about Emotional Abuse and Recovery from Complex PTSD
Complex PTSD from emotional abuse is an unreported epidemic in the United States. Lily Scot’s “Sating the Preta” reveals the intricacies of this disorder through a personal account written in terms easily understood by trauma victims and their loved ones in finding recovery from its effects.
According to Scot, in our increasingly anxious society, all of us are vulnerable to Complex PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as more of us experience psychological trauma first and second hand. For most of us, these are not shocking or violent headline-creating incidents. They are subtle moments of terror first felt by us in childhood that open us to risk and further emotional abuse in adulthood. Out of this complex trauma we learn reactions and behaviors we use in a psychotic merry-go-round of avoiding or confronting new terrors -- Complex PTSD. Too many of us are the product of emotional abuse and Complex PTSD, and too many others its unwitting cause.
In "Sating the Preta: A Memoir about Emotional Abuse and Recovery from Complex PTSD, Scot illustrates the development and characteristics of Complex PTSD through a personal story that translates the disorder into an understandable and treatable problem rather than the unrelieved craziness that victims feel and loved ones witness. Both can then more comfortably set themselves on a journey toward recovery, one perhaps similar to the transformation experienced by Scot.
This compelling memoir explores the first years of Scot’s life from 1950 to 1980 – three decades of intense cultural change during which perilous and harmful as well as gratifying and amusing personal events inspire her erratic journey and transformation. Scot evolves her story through satisfying vignettes offering vibrant impressions of a poignant early childhood, a painful and silent adolescence, a young adulthood fraught with rage and self-destruction and finally an emerging maturity of compassion, forgiveness and remarkable intuition. She writes in an emotional, but not self-involved manner, her self-deprecations often as amusing as her observations are sharp and enduring.
This story also suggests that in these troubled times we all become more accepting of each other and more insightful, forgiving and kinder in our judgment of what motivates those we meet. Their behavior may just be a reflection of the tremendous chaos fermenting in their soul from influences over which they had no control.
Author Lily Scot has been working professionally in public relations for 30 years, primarily for non-profit human service organizations. This is her first book.
“Trauma is too quickly labeled as rape, beatings, torture, restraint and captivity,” says Scot. “I think most trauma is far less horrific than these severe incidents. It’s emotional manipulation, verbal assault, sexual harassment and molestation, intimidation, workplace abuse, and other non-violent trauma too tolerated by society. I didn’t even know I’d been through emotional abuse until diagnosed with Complex PTSD. If I’d known my very painful feelings were a treatable consequence of psychological trauma that wasn’t my fault, I would have found relief and led a healthier life at a younger age than my current 63 years. I wrote "Sating the Preta" hoping young women and men experiencing feelings such as extreme anxiety and depression would relate to my story and seek help sooner.”
According to Scot, in our increasingly anxious society, all of us are vulnerable to Complex PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as more of us experience psychological trauma first and second hand. For most of us, these are not shocking or violent headline-creating incidents. They are subtle moments of terror first felt by us in childhood that open us to risk and further emotional abuse in adulthood. Out of this complex trauma we learn reactions and behaviors we use in a psychotic merry-go-round of avoiding or confronting new terrors -- Complex PTSD. Too many of us are the product of emotional abuse and Complex PTSD, and too many others its unwitting cause.
In "Sating the Preta: A Memoir about Emotional Abuse and Recovery from Complex PTSD, Scot illustrates the development and characteristics of Complex PTSD through a personal story that translates the disorder into an understandable and treatable problem rather than the unrelieved craziness that victims feel and loved ones witness. Both can then more comfortably set themselves on a journey toward recovery, one perhaps similar to the transformation experienced by Scot.
This compelling memoir explores the first years of Scot’s life from 1950 to 1980 – three decades of intense cultural change during which perilous and harmful as well as gratifying and amusing personal events inspire her erratic journey and transformation. Scot evolves her story through satisfying vignettes offering vibrant impressions of a poignant early childhood, a painful and silent adolescence, a young adulthood fraught with rage and self-destruction and finally an emerging maturity of compassion, forgiveness and remarkable intuition. She writes in an emotional, but not self-involved manner, her self-deprecations often as amusing as her observations are sharp and enduring.
This story also suggests that in these troubled times we all become more accepting of each other and more insightful, forgiving and kinder in our judgment of what motivates those we meet. Their behavior may just be a reflection of the tremendous chaos fermenting in their soul from influences over which they had no control.
Author Lily Scot has been working professionally in public relations for 30 years, primarily for non-profit human service organizations. This is her first book.
“Trauma is too quickly labeled as rape, beatings, torture, restraint and captivity,” says Scot. “I think most trauma is far less horrific than these severe incidents. It’s emotional manipulation, verbal assault, sexual harassment and molestation, intimidation, workplace abuse, and other non-violent trauma too tolerated by society. I didn’t even know I’d been through emotional abuse until diagnosed with Complex PTSD. If I’d known my very painful feelings were a treatable consequence of psychological trauma that wasn’t my fault, I would have found relief and led a healthier life at a younger age than my current 63 years. I wrote "Sating the Preta" hoping young women and men experiencing feelings such as extreme anxiety and depression would relate to my story and seek help sooner.”
366 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2013
7 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Lily Scot
1 book7 followersLily Scot was born in Germany and has lived in various parts of the United States, though mostly in the Northeast, with some time lived in London and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, along with travels to Europe and the Caribbean. She now lives in Upstate New York with two elderly female cats.
Her professional life has been spent working more than 30 years in public relations and fundraising for non-profit human service organizations. In the past few years Lily has taken up political activism, applying her skills to the promotion of several causes she finds critical to restoring true democracy in her home country. Having just attained her bachelor’s degree in Human Services, she hopes to find work for a non-governmental organization serving women and children in the Caribbean, where she plans to eventually retire.
Lily is also the author of Sating the Preta: A Memoir About Finding the Person I Was Before the Chaos Began.
The book describes the subtlety of non-violent, complex trauma and the choices we have in finding resilience and recovery from its effects. Now sixty-three-years old, Lily tells the story of the first third of her life from 1950 to 1980 – three decades of intense cultural change during which perilous and harmful as well as gratifying and amusing personal events inspired her erratic journey and transformation.
Her professional life has been spent working more than 30 years in public relations and fundraising for non-profit human service organizations. In the past few years Lily has taken up political activism, applying her skills to the promotion of several causes she finds critical to restoring true democracy in her home country. Having just attained her bachelor’s degree in Human Services, she hopes to find work for a non-governmental organization serving women and children in the Caribbean, where she plans to eventually retire.
Lily is also the author of Sating the Preta: A Memoir About Finding the Person I Was Before the Chaos Began.
The book describes the subtlety of non-violent, complex trauma and the choices we have in finding resilience and recovery from its effects. Now sixty-three-years old, Lily tells the story of the first third of her life from 1950 to 1980 – three decades of intense cultural change during which perilous and harmful as well as gratifying and amusing personal events inspired her erratic journey and transformation.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2013
Lily Scot's memoir tells such a true tale of dealing with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I recognised myself over and over, which is comforting. Her descriptive and sympathetic accounts of the beautiful places she found herself in during her chequered life lends colour and sound to the otherwise disturbing accounts of physical, verbal and emotional abuse she has suffered. What amazes me is her ability to find forgiveness for whomever has dealt this abuse, whether it's her ex, her childhood neighbours or her insecure boss.
The stand-out memories I'm left with after reading this gorgeous novel are firstly the realisation that abusers (usually but not always men) constantly expect their victims to accept more abuse, and secondly the amazing resilience people like Lily show by dusting themselves off and carrying on.
The stand-out memories I'm left with after reading this gorgeous novel are firstly the realisation that abusers (usually but not always men) constantly expect their victims to accept more abuse, and secondly the amazing resilience people like Lily show by dusting themselves off and carrying on.
January 26, 2015
Brave, honest and raw. Required reading for anyone who is enduring the seemingly unstoppable ride of Complex PTSD and their loved ones. Bravo Lily!
January 22, 2014
Full disclosure, I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Sating the Preta: A Memoir about Emotional Abuse and Recovery from Complex PTSD
by Lily Scot is a collection of memories through the first three decades of the author's life, dealing with her experiences of emotional abuse causing her complex PTSD, and how she eventually began her recovery.
The memories of the first decade seemed rather disjointed at first, often jumping from one to another with seemingly no connection between them. Later on, however, it begins to come together and makes sense, as each memory helps throw light on new issues in Scot's life.
Lily Scot has led a fascinating, and at times very difficult life. I loved the way she opened up to the reader and allowed us inside into her life, giving us a chance to understand the things that we have found difficult and hard to accept in our own lives - even as they might have been very different to hers.
However, Sating the Preta is not a how-to-manual on overcoming complex PTSD and emotional abuse. It is the author's story, and while it is inspirational and gives the reader hope, there is little practical advice or guidance (which might also have been misplaced in a memoir). In my opinion this doesn't detract, but is just something for the reader to be aware of.
Sating the Preta: A Memoir about Emotional Abuse and Recovery from Complex PTSD
by Lily Scot is a collection of memories through the first three decades of the author's life, dealing with her experiences of emotional abuse causing her complex PTSD, and how she eventually began her recovery.The memories of the first decade seemed rather disjointed at first, often jumping from one to another with seemingly no connection between them. Later on, however, it begins to come together and makes sense, as each memory helps throw light on new issues in Scot's life.
Lily Scot has led a fascinating, and at times very difficult life. I loved the way she opened up to the reader and allowed us inside into her life, giving us a chance to understand the things that we have found difficult and hard to accept in our own lives - even as they might have been very different to hers.
However, Sating the Preta is not a how-to-manual on overcoming complex PTSD and emotional abuse. It is the author's story, and while it is inspirational and gives the reader hope, there is little practical advice or guidance (which might also have been misplaced in a memoir). In my opinion this doesn't detract, but is just something for the reader to be aware of.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews