Terrifying Love: Why Battered Women Kill and How Society Responds

by Lenore E. Walker

A pioneer in the study of battered women analyzes, based on case histories, the complex forces that drive some abused women to murder and discusses the legal and emotional aftermath of the killing

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Lenore E. Walker

Reviews

[Suz]

My sociology professor Mitra Das taught the most interesting and challenging classes. The type of topics we discussed forced you to truly explore your notions about different races, ethnic groups and socio-economic groups. Those same topics helped us learn how we are all the same. Terrifying Love explores battered women and how they end up where they are. I believe any woman can benefit from reading this book because abuse can and does start out slowly and is designed to break down a woman's trust in her own instincts. With today's propensity for rushing into casual relationships I think "abuse" has taken on a new form of anything that breaks down a woman's self esteem. And I am ranting now...read the book. It's powerful.

[Debra]

I remember attending a public speaking event in Missoula, Montana in 1977. I was a young social worker and the event's topic was domestic violence, Dr. Lenore E. Walker was the speaker. It was my first exposure to the topic of domestic violence. "Terrifying Love" describes the fear the abused woman endures, the psychological manipulation, and desperation wrought upon her by her abuser. Almost 50 years later domestic violence is not eradicated. Societal norms such as women viewed as men's property continues. Children are an extension of this norm. Billings, Montana recently had a man kill his wife. She had an order of protection. Instead of holding a piece of paper perhaps a gun would have been a better deterrent.

[Kim Schellin-Rog]

Very repetitive of her first book the battered women.