CD 145 Book Analysis
1. Choose a non-fiction or fiction book that relates to child abuse. Please look at the ideas
provided in the book list. There should be at least 2 other people reading the same book.
During class time there will be an opportunity to meet in small groups with people reading
the same book (Book Clubs). These Book Clubs will meet every other week in class to
discuss and analyze the book.
2. Each person is responsible for writing a critical analysis of the book chosen. The
Written Book Analysis is due on 10/27/03. It must be typed with a 12 point font and
double spaced. The cover page should include the title of the book, author, date published
and the publisher, as well as your name and the date.
3. Each Book Club will be responsible for an oral presentation of their book to the class
on 10/27/03. Included in the oral presentation will be a summary of the book, what are the
chapters (from 4-9) from the text that describes the type of abuse depicted in their story,
and then choose the major points from the chapter/s identified in the text and analyze the
story using these points.
Book Club Discussion Guide
As you discuss the book in the Book Clubs, as you write your analysis, and as you prepare your
presentation, keep in mind the following questions:
1. What chapter from the text describes the type of abuse depicted in your story?
2. What are the major points from this chapter/s? Analyze the story using these points.
3. What type/s of abuse did the character in your book suffer? Who did it? When in history
did this happen?
4. What type of offender was the perpetrator? How did the offender engage the victim?
5. What was the immediate impact of the abuse? What was the impact on his/her childhood?
6. What symptoms did the victim exhibit?
7. How did it affect the child’s self-concept or self-esteem?
8. Was there anyone who the child trusted or could confide to during the time the child was
abused?
9. What was the character or qualities of the trusted person and how did they help the child?
10. How did the child cope with the abuse?
11. If applicable, did the book describe the abuser’s childhood? How did it affect the abuser’s
relationship and actions toward the abused child?
12. How did the child’s immediate community react or not react to the abuse?
13. As an adult, what impact did the abuse have on the person’s self-esteem?
14. As an adult, what impact did the abuse have on the person’s coping ability?
15. As an adult, what impact did the abuse have on the person’s relationship with others
adults?
16. Did it have any impact on the adult’s relationship with their own children? If so, how?
17. What could you have done better or how would you have reacted if were the character in
the book? What kind of prevention could have hindered the abuse?
18. What treatment if any did the family or victim go through? How helpful was it?
19. What part of the book did you relate to? How and why did it strike a chord in you?
20. Describe the feelings you had as you read the book?
CD 145 Book List
A Child Called It, The Lost Boy Both by David Pelzer
David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother
to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturing to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an
It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the
author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's
diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she
claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his
father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its
aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system.
They Cage the Animals at Night,
I enjoyed the book, They Cage the Animals at Night. This autobiographical story is about a young child who is
separated from his brothers and sent to different orphanages, because their mother is sick. The nuns are very strict
and have no sympathy for an eight year old boy, Jennings. It is about Jennings and his struggles through a series of
different orphanage homes, feeling lonely, and frightened. He held on to a stuffed animal who he named Doggie. This
book is, as the back cover explains, "The triumphant tale of a little boy who finally gained the courage to reach out for
love- and found it waiting for him".. Jennings' unyielding spirit and hope are seemingly contagious as he brings the
reader into this brave boys childhood. While reading this autobiographical you will be able to feel sympathy for the kid,
wanting to help. And you will feel as if you were going through the experiences with him- the hurt and pain. It is very
well written with good details. I am very glad i chose to read this book, and would recommend it to anyone.
Whatever Mother Says: An Incredible True Story of Death and Destruction Inside One Ordinary Family by
Wensley Clarkson A daughter's disturbing story reveals her single mother's brutal plots with her two brothers to
repress, physically abuse, and imprison the girls in the family, which eventually cost two of the three sisters their lives.
Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You
Belying the sensationalistic title, Silverman's memoir is a subtle, powerful evocation of the tragedy of incest. From the
age of 4 until she left for college at 18, Silverman was sexually abused by her father, a powerful government official.
Although the family lived in posh surroundings, hers was literally a house of horrors: her mother often retreated to her
bedroom with a series of vaguely defined illnesses while her older sister jumped at any opportunity to get out of the
house, leaving Silverman alone to deal with her father's uncontrollable rage and often violent sexual abuse. Although
she exhibited all the classic symptoms, including promiscuity and an eating disorder, no one helped her, and she
struggled to find emotional equilibrium well into adulthood. Finally, with the aid of a good psychiatrist and a loving
husband, she was able to confront her childhood trauma. This harrowing memoir gives voice to the inarticulate terror
Silverman suffered as a child, when she could never find the right words to describe her situation. She has found them
now.
Becoming Anna: The Autobiography of a Sixteen-Year-Old by Anna J. Michener
In 16-year-old Michener's extraordinary memoir, written shortly after she assumed a new identity and new name, she
recounts a childhood of physical and emotional abuse, first at the hands of her family, then at two facilities (one private,
one state run) in which she was institutionalized for much of her adolescence. With wisdom beyond her years, this
young author relates her early instinctive knowledge that "crazy" is a label applied to perfectly sane children whose
behavior is a normal..
Ghost Girl: The True Story of a Child in Peril and the Teacher Who Saved Her by Torey Hayden
YA-- Hayden's classroom of emotionally disturbed children consists of Reuben, a boy suffering from autism; Philip,
born to an addict mother and now in foster care; Jeremiah, a foul-mouthed fighter; and Jadie, a girl who never speaks
and walks with such hunched posture that she appears to be doubled over. Through patience and determination,
Hayden gains Jadie's confidence and gets her to speak, but with her conversation come tales of sexual abuse and
ritual acts too horrifying to believe
One Child by Torey Hayden
This book is a true story about very disturbed and smart 6 year old. Her name's Sheila. Torey Hayden(teacher of
emotionally disturbed children) takes Sheila to her class, just for awhile until Sheila gets a place from a mental hospital.
Sheila and Torey becomes great friends and their relationship is very unique between a teacher and student. Their
ways gets separated but eventually they meet again.
The Tiger's Child by Torey Hayden
Abandoned by her mother on a highway at age four, abused by her drug-addict father between his prison stints,
autistic, electively mute Sheila Renstad at age six broke through her silent rage to communicate, aided by her five-
month relationship with special-education teacher Hayden. That experience, recorded in Hayden's One Child, which
became a TV movie, is updated in this deeply moving sequel. It picks up with Sheila as a sullen 13-year-old bouncing
between juvenile facilities and her father's "care." As Hayden renews her ties to Sheila?first at a clinic, then through
informal contacts?the girl's outbursts and foul-mouthed sexual preoccupations betray a desperate craving for a sense
of belonging. An inspirational testament to the healing power of love, this authentic tearjerker resonates with drama.
There is no storybook ending: Sheila, with an IQ over 180, forgoes college to work for McDonald's; an epilogue finds
her 10 years later as a branch manager at McDonald's and an articulate, stable woman.
Magic Castle by Carole Smith
When Carole Smith and her husband decided to take on a foster child that no one else would have, they knew ten-
year-old Alex would be difficult. But nothing prepared them for the unruly, self-destructive boy who stormed into their
lives. Alone with Alex during the day, Carole was baffled by his infantile tantrums and violent, self-hating behaviors.
Exasperated, she tried relating to him as the two-year-old he appeared to be, and finally, a door to Alex's mind began
to open. With the help of psychiatrist Dr. Steven Kingsbury, Alex's tormented mind revealed a host of personalities,
each born in a horrifying episode of Alex's past--each carrying a memory too powerful for his conscious mind to handle.
As the personalities came forth in the safety of Alex's inner, secret castle, they unleashed stories of abandonment,
brain-washing, and sexual abuse by those Alex trusted the most.
A Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story by Anthony Godby Johnson
Extraordinary autobiography of child abuse, nomadic street life, and, finally, AIDS--written with uncommon
sophistication by a 14-year-old. The son of outwardly normal Manhattan parents, Johnson endures unspeakable
depravity at home (``While other kids were being tossed into the air, hugged and caressed, and lulled to sleep by their
mothers, I was being flung into corners and slapped across rooms''). He's denied food, even a bed to sleep on, while
suffering savage beatings by his parents, as well as sexual abuse at the hands of one of his mother's friends. The
streets become his escape as he searches for food and rides subway trains all night with other abused children.
Eventually, the boy, now 11 and on the verge of killing himself, calls a hot line for help. Two social workers from
separate agencies respond. They meet at Johnson's hospital bed, fall in love with him, fall in love with each other,
marry, and adopt the youth. The fairy tale potential evaporates, though, with the boy's subsequent AIDS diagnosis.
Surrounded for the first time by a loving family, Johnson fights on with courage and dignity: ``I am not an object of
shame, but a portrait of pride. I hold my head high and say my name aloud.'' With grace and honesty far beyond his
years, the boy never lapses into self-pity. He roams beyond the shell of illness, touching on the joys of baseball and hot
pretzels, delivering vivid and interesting portraits of family members, doctors, and friends. With an introduction by Paul
Monette and an afterward by Fred (Mister) Rogers: A virtuous, unflinching, and unsentimental account of one boy's
courage amid some of the world's worst cruelties. –
Death from Child Abuse... and No One Heard by Eve Krupinski
This book gives many great details of the torture she went through but we won't ever know how she really felt. What
makes the story even worse is that the mother did nothing to prevent her boyfriend, Don, from hurting her daughter.
This book has impacted my life tremendously and I hope it has yours also. For all those ones who find out a child or
friend has been abused, go and report it-you may spare their lives instead of being killed from the pain and torture of
being abused. This is a wonderful, powerful, touching book that should be in every home across the nation, and all the
parts of the world.
Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation by Leonard Shengold
To abuse or neglect a child, to deprive the child of his or her own identity and ability to experience joy in life, is to
commit soul murder. Soul murder is the perpetration of brutal or subtle acts against children that result in their
emotional bondage to the abuser and, finally, in their psychic and spiritual annihilation. In this compelling, disturbing,
and superbly readable book, Dr. Leonard Shengold, clinical professor of psychiatry at the New York University School
of Medicine, explores the devastating psychological effects of this trauma inflicted on a shocking number of children.
Dead Wrong: The Truth About Domestic Violence, Incest and Child Abuse by Angela Hayden
The premises of this book are that domestic violence, child abuse and incest is still too prevalent in our society even
after 20 years of proactive work by organizations. The goals of this book are to educate people about domestic
violence, incest and child abuse and to inspire them to make a difference in their lives, in the lives of their children and
in the lives of other people. The book details the author’s journey through a life of isolation and torment.
Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Child Abuse by Mike Lew
For millions of men who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse, this ground-breaking work offers hope, understanding
and essential advice experience advice for healing. Written by a nationally recognized expert on recovery for male
survivors, Victim No Longer addresses survivor with compassion, intelligence, and respect, and helps them to:
Identify and validate their childhood experiences
Explore strategies of survival and healing
Work through issues such as trust, intimacy, and sexuality
Established a support network for continued personal recovery
Set future goals for all men are on the path to recovery and those who wish to help them on that journey, Victims No
Longer will prove to be an illuminating, transforming guide.
Daddy's Girl by Charlotte Vale Allen
This is the first book I bought once I accepted my own abuse. It encouraged me to continue to seek the truth and to
stop denying what happened. Many years later I am recovering from the destruction and am happier than I ever
dreamed possible.
Charred Souls: A Story of Recreational Child Abuse byTrena Cole
Charred Souls describes the childhood of one child and her six siblings as they grew up in a family that used child
abuse as a source of entertainment. In her book, Trena Cole describes the methods of intimidation, torture and
isolation used to keep the children from seeking help from others. It also describes how, since much of the extended
family practiced the same type of abusive behavior, the children assumed the whole world lived this way. This family,
while they may have been reported as potential child abusers, were never charged or prosecuted despite the
atrocious, sadistic torture they subjected their young children to. Trena, the oldest child, became the parental role
model, nurturer and caretaker for the younger children from the age of five, never having anyone to nurture or care for
her.
Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher, Mim Eichler Rivas, Mim E. Rivas
Born in prison to a single mother, Antwone Fisher was a ward of Cleveland's foster care system until he was taken in
by a family who subjected him to verbal and sexual abuse throughout his adolescence. At 17, Fish escaped, only to
suffer the hardships of life on the streets. Enlisting in the U.S. Navy, he found a "family" of his own. But before he could
make peace with his past, he had to discover who he really was and where he came from—an inspiring, fascinating
journey that lead from the mean streets of Cleveland to the highest echelons in Hollywood.
Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller
Why are many of the most successful people plagued by feelings of emptiness and alienation? This wise and profound
book has provided thousands of readers with an answer - and has helped them to apply it to their own lives. Far too
many of us had to learn as children to hide our own feelings, needs, and memories skillfully in order to meet our
parents' expectations and win their "love." Alice Miller writes, "When I used the word 'gifted' in the title, I had in mind
neither children who receive high grades in school nor children talented in a special way. I simply meant all of us who
have survived an abusive childhood thanks to an ability to adapt even to unspeakable cruelty by becoming
numb...Without this 'gift' offered us by nature, we would not have survived." But merely surviving is not enough. The
Drama of the Gifted Child helps us to reclaim our life by discovering our own crucial needs and our own truth.
For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence by Alice Miller
Considering that corporal punishment has not been banned by Britain, America, Australia etc, this book seems still
very relevant after 20 years. Miller brilliantly shows that abusing children serves the interests of the adult, not the
child... its an amazing book, it is logical, clever, accessible, and important. A must read
Tender Mercies: Inside the World of a Child Abuse Investigator by Keith N. Richards
This first-person, emotional account of a child protection service worker in New York State gives the reader an intimate
look at all aspects of handling child abuse cases: interviewing parents who have been accused of abusing their
children, talking to abused children removed from their parents' guardianship, working with an uncaring system
ironically designed with the best of intentions, and keeping up with the mounds of paperwork each case generates.
Lucid and disturbing, eloquent and passionate, Tender Mercies is a must-read for professionals and laypeople alike!
Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford
This book was so interesting I read it in under three days!! Joan Crawford was obviously bi-polar and mixed with
alcohol explains the rages and eccentric behavior. I hope Chistina found peace with how she was raised.
When Rabbit Howls by Truddi Chase
To escape the horror of violent abuse, the two-year-old child "went to sleep" and created the inner world of "the
Troops, " the 92 voices that shielded her from pain, but that she didn't know existed until adulthood. This is a journey
through the fragmented world of the multiple personality
Dibs in Search of Self: The renowned, deeply moving story of an emotionally lost child who found his way
back by Virginia M. Axline
The classic of child therapy. Dibs will not talk. He will not play. He has locked himself in a very special prison. And he is
alone. This is the true story of how he learned to reach out for the sunshine, for life . . . how he came to the breathless
discovery of himself that brought him back to the world of other children.