Still Loved by the Sun: A Rape Survivor's Journal

by Migael Scherer

This illuminating account is a personal story, yet it reveals the universality of Scherer's reaction to her trauma--the flashbacks, nightmares, feelings of anguish, despair, and vulnerability, inexplicably and maddeningly interspersed among hours and even days of progress.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 1992

About the author

Migael Scherer is the author of four books and numerous essays that range from the literary to the practical. Her first book, Still Loved by the Sun: A Rape Survivor's Journal, won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award and a PEN/Albrand citation for distinguished nonfiction. Back Under Sail: Recovering the Spirit of Adventure is her most recent publication. An experienced mariner, she also wrote the first comprehensive cruising guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, now in its second edition.

Scherer served for over a decade as a lecturer and program consultant to the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at the University of Washington in Seattle, teaching journalists how to cover traumatic events in ways that are sensitive to victims and survivors. She also directed the Dart Award for Excellence in Reporting on Victims of Violence. Scherer currently works as a literacy coach for the Seattle School District.

(from http://www.counterbalancearts.org/spe...)

Reviews

[Suzan Lemont · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I picked this book up recently at a local charity shop and I both can and can't understand why it would be one of those overlooked treasures: it's eloquent and raw, surprisingly enticing/engaging reading (I could not put it down today until I finished it) that will stay with me for a long time. A must read for trauma survivors, their friends and family, and anyone who seeks to better understand the healing process for someone who has survived brutal violence. I am part of an initiative called Heal Her: Storytelling Circles for Survivors of (Sexual) Violence and this will be going on our resource list for sure. So beautifully demonstrates the power in being able to tell the story, and have it witnessed/heard. Courageous, at times exquisite prose; deeply probing and self-reflective. I feel grateful to the author for having written it, and to the gods of serendipity for me finding it.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

powerful read

[It's a book that really pushed me to rethink the bias I admit to regarding those from upper middle class. The super-strong network of support this rape survivor had was awesome, but not always enough. Because of this, this book also helped me forgive myself a bit more for not always overcoming the residual affect of traumas I've endured.]

Surely a book to deepen self-reflection on many fronts -- as spouse/partner, friend, citizen, stranger, as a survivor of any sort. . .

[Note: I picked this book up from the discard pile while working for our local library system's upcoming book sale. I'm sorry it was discarded, and wonder why it was.]

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in the mid to late 1990's. I remember it
being one of those super intense books that felt like I was
reading someone's diary.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books for a rape survivor to read.