Heroes, Villains, and Healing: A Guide for Male Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Using D.C. Comic Superheroes and Villains

by Kenneth Rogers Jr.

1 in 6 males will be sexually abused in their lifetime. This fact is often ignored or not believed.

Heroes, Villains, and Healing is a guide to help male survivors of childhood sexual abuse understand and heal from the trauma of their past using DC Comic Book superheroes and villains.

This helpful book is divided into three parts. The first is "Heroes," which explains how some coping strategies of male survivors are similar to the archetypes of such DC superheroes as Superman, Batman, and the Flash.

The second part, "Villains," examines how other coping strategies may not be as positive, having traits and attitudes of villains such as Lex Luthor and the Joker.

"Healing" is the final part, which explains how striving to live the life of a hero or a villain can be sustainable. To truly heal from childhood sexual abuse means working through the stages of healing and receiving help from a therapist or counselor. This final section includes writing exercises and examples that help male survivors know they are not alone, as they come to terms with their abuse and heal from past trauma.

The book was written to help male survivors open up about their abuse, seek help, and stop suppressing their trauma through drug and alcohol abuse, or suicide.

About the Author: Kenneth Rogers Jr. is a male survivor of childhood sexual abuse and lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his loving wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Mirus and Amare.

Publisher's website: http: //sbpra.com/KennethRogersJr

220 pages, Paperback

Published June 12, 2017

About the author

Kenneth Rogers Jr. grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland, where he teaches 9th grade English. He is working on a new book, Diary of Oliver Lee, the first in a trilogy called Chronicles of the Last Liturian.

Reviews

[Riley Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way to pull the reality of being a sexual assault survivor away from the reader and instead giving them a mirror to look through themselves to see where the survivor might need help and affirming behaviors and feelings about the assault. My only major complaint is that this book lacks a lot in pictures for a book about comic book heroes.

[Dori Shethinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the primary focus is on male survivors of sexual trauma, I found it to be a very useful tool as a female survivor of physical and psychological trauma. Rogers does an excellent job of using popular superheroes and super villains to illustrate how distorted defense mechanisms, while perhaps useful as children, can become our own undoing without the care and attention of an adult who has undertaken their own healing process.

[John Stinebaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unique in that it is an honest and personal testimonial while also being a practical guide to using skills and techniques that professionals would recommend. The backdrop of the DC universe helps make this approachable and reinforces that we can all survive this. Thank you for this book.

[Stef Brundage · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very beautifully written recovery book. Very helpful. I will say: get a therapist as you work on this book. If you don't, get one immediately as soon as you're done. This catapulted me into new healing.

[Laura Valbuena27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!!!

[Andrew Briggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided to give this a reread 5 years later. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve worked through so much of these issues or what, but so much of the anecdote to me rings as “I am broken, people must tip toe around me so as to not break me further” (the school principle section)

I will still recommend this to people early in their journey, but yeah.