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Resurrection After Rape: A Guide to Transforming From Victim to Survivor
"Resurrection After Rape" is now the top-selling, best-reviewed book about women's recovery from rape trauma. It is current "gold standard" for counselors, treatment centers, college course texts, and, of course, survivors of rape. Thousands of copies sold have made it one of the most sought-after guides for personal recovery after sexual assault. Addresses PTSD, spirituality, self-injury, sexuality, guilt/shame, and therapy.
302 pages, Paperback
First published June 13, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 7, 2023
Sometimes you read a book that can be helpful or even life-changing in the best sense. And for survivors of sexual assault and abuse the number of titles where this is true is very limited. This is one of these books. For me, Resurrection After Rape belongs in the same category of rare gems like Ellen Bass and Laura Davis’s Courage to Heal.
One of the things that impressed me is how Atkinson shows this awareness that much of what survivors have to deal with is about being isolated by what they had to go through. It might sound like a small thing to many, but it isn’t. And it is striking that Atkinson seems to take this very seriously. He understands the major difference between being made functional in society again and being shown a real way of truly reconnecting to people.
What you will find in this title are possible answers that can help survivors to heal. Atkinson never has a short answer to the questions survivors might have. He is rather determined in what he thinks is possible, and he wants to guide girls and women onto a path that helps them being survivors instead of victims. Is there one recipe for recovery that fits all? No, definitely not, and he makes that clear from the beginning. And Atkinson also makes it very clear that what survivors feel is valid. Hopefully, all therapists worth their salt think that way, but how he takes every woman he mentions in his book seriously is something I liked a lot.
The chapters of the book deal with different aspects of what might be relevant for women who experienced trauma. This goes from ‘Is therapy necessary for recovery?’, ‘Evaluating what you believe about rape’ or ‘Your story’ to ‘The label of survivor’. I am not really doing the book justice by simply giving a few examples of chapters. Actually, there are 33 chapters if you count the afterword as one, and in most cases Atkinson deals with each chapter comprehensively.
In many chapters you’ll find different tasks that give you the chance to write about different aspects of the traumatic experience. Some of these tasks are longer than others, and several of them remind me of exercises from the Breaking Free Workbook (Kay Toon and Carolyn Ainscough), which I can also recommend as a great resource.
What you will also find throughout the book are the stories of survivors. Some of this is a mix of the survivor’s story and Atkinson’s explanation and description about survivors’ healing. Apart from your own memories that might come up while reading this book, you can see how the survivors went from a very dark and hopeless place to so much healing that it enabled them to reconnect with people and live their lives the way they enjoy it.
The title was published in 2008, and my review is based on the 2008 paperback. I am not aware of a newer edition or a kindle version though I would love it, especially if existing chapters were expanded and maybe more chapters added. This is not meant as criticism, because Resurrection After Rape simply is an excellent book.
I definitely recommend this for female survivors, counsellors and therapists.
6 out of 5 stars
One of the things that impressed me is how Atkinson shows this awareness that much of what survivors have to deal with is about being isolated by what they had to go through. It might sound like a small thing to many, but it isn’t. And it is striking that Atkinson seems to take this very seriously. He understands the major difference between being made functional in society again and being shown a real way of truly reconnecting to people.
What you will find in this title are possible answers that can help survivors to heal. Atkinson never has a short answer to the questions survivors might have. He is rather determined in what he thinks is possible, and he wants to guide girls and women onto a path that helps them being survivors instead of victims. Is there one recipe for recovery that fits all? No, definitely not, and he makes that clear from the beginning. And Atkinson also makes it very clear that what survivors feel is valid. Hopefully, all therapists worth their salt think that way, but how he takes every woman he mentions in his book seriously is something I liked a lot.
The chapters of the book deal with different aspects of what might be relevant for women who experienced trauma. This goes from ‘Is therapy necessary for recovery?’, ‘Evaluating what you believe about rape’ or ‘Your story’ to ‘The label of survivor’. I am not really doing the book justice by simply giving a few examples of chapters. Actually, there are 33 chapters if you count the afterword as one, and in most cases Atkinson deals with each chapter comprehensively.
In many chapters you’ll find different tasks that give you the chance to write about different aspects of the traumatic experience. Some of these tasks are longer than others, and several of them remind me of exercises from the Breaking Free Workbook (Kay Toon and Carolyn Ainscough), which I can also recommend as a great resource.
What you will also find throughout the book are the stories of survivors. Some of this is a mix of the survivor’s story and Atkinson’s explanation and description about survivors’ healing. Apart from your own memories that might come up while reading this book, you can see how the survivors went from a very dark and hopeless place to so much healing that it enabled them to reconnect with people and live their lives the way they enjoy it.
The title was published in 2008, and my review is based on the 2008 paperback. I am not aware of a newer edition or a kindle version though I would love it, especially if existing chapters were expanded and maybe more chapters added. This is not meant as criticism, because Resurrection After Rape simply is an excellent book.
I definitely recommend this for female survivors, counsellors and therapists.
6 out of 5 stars
February 16, 2011
If you are a rape survivor then this is the book for you.
What Matt Atkinson manages to do in merely one book is truly awe inspiring. He provides practical advice, he comforts, he shows he understands and then he mixes that with real accounts of healing by real survivors.
Before I found this book I was at a loss as how to move forward and heal from my past. I had begun to think I would never, ever feel the healing some women/men speak of. Then I read this quiet, unassuming book and everything changed. Not only did someone really understand what it mean tot be a survivor but they also explained how I could help myself move forward.
This isn't an easy process and the author is very honest about that. You will want to throw the book quite a bit. But don't let that put you off because I can guarantee that every person I know who has thrown this book has also picked it back up again and carried on.
What Matt Atkinson manages to do in merely one book is truly awe inspiring. He provides practical advice, he comforts, he shows he understands and then he mixes that with real accounts of healing by real survivors.
Before I found this book I was at a loss as how to move forward and heal from my past. I had begun to think I would never, ever feel the healing some women/men speak of. Then I read this quiet, unassuming book and everything changed. Not only did someone really understand what it mean tot be a survivor but they also explained how I could help myself move forward.
This isn't an easy process and the author is very honest about that. You will want to throw the book quite a bit. But don't let that put you off because I can guarantee that every person I know who has thrown this book has also picked it back up again and carried on.
May 9, 2014
This book is incredible and can help a lot of people. Matt Atkinson has a huge heart and helps female rape survivors overcome their struggles with the aftermath of sexual violence. He offers great insights and exercises to do with one's therapist, and the survivors' words and artwork are very powerful. Although it's a book written about and for female rape survivors, I believe men and significant others can benefit from this book as well. This book is extremely valuable in a world that suffers from sexual violence. Too many are affected, but "Resurrection after Rape" can help with that in many ways.
-Robert Uttaro, author of To the Survivors
-Robert Uttaro, author of To the Survivors
April 2, 2019
The most profound insight and truth I have encountered as related to assault.
June 28, 2013
Many stories about healing but not about the process of how to heal. I was looking for more clinical procedure.
May 23, 2015
Confusing at times. Triggering, slightly patronizing.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews