Stolen Tomorrows: Understanding and Treating Women’s Childhood Sexual Abuse

From the psychotherapist who offered groundbreaking work on self-mutilation, an examination of the psychology of victims of sexual abuse. Acclaimed psychotherapist Steven Levenkron’s Stolen Tomorrows is a breakthrough book that will encourage the 30 percent of women who have been abused to think about, talk about, and seek help for what has been their secret shame. It illustrates the emotional and psychological devastation inflicted on young girls when they experience childhood sexual abuse, exploring varied situations and settings in which this abuse takes place, focusing on the child’s experiences at the time of the assault, as well as the emotional, behavioral, and psychological problems that emerge in adolescence and adulthood. A common theme emerges in therapy sessions: self-hatred, low self-esteem, fearfulness, and an abiding sense of personal debasement. But this book offers an uplifting message. In addition to giving therapists and other helpers an empathic insight, Stolen Tomorrows will enable the survivor to recognize herself in both her personal history and her current struggle to overcome the legacy of abuse.