Overcoming Emotional Abuse

by Susan Elliot-Wright

Rare book

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. A basic, functional, and general account of what abuse is, how to spot it, and what some options may be. Very specifically for married women with children looking to leave their abusive husbands safely. I don’t think this book is by any means exhaustive, and does not offer a deep or nuanced understanding of abuse. It is however a positive “you’re-not-alone” companion read. Recommended for women who are experiencing or have experienced abuse, who may feel they need other voices to know they are not the only ones.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content in this book is great, but it is written solely for women being abused by men. While this is by far the most common scenario, I can't really understand the need to make the whole book so gender-specific. It's disappointing because people experiencing abuse via any other gender combination are already "invisible" in the domestic violence space, and they may feel that even more acutely if they read this book.

So while this book contains good info that would be useful to everyone, be aware that it's not written for everyone.

An example of the good (although gendered) info:

The abuser often:
* feels he is always right
* denies the abuse
* feels his needs are more important than yours
* is irritable, short-tempered and impatient
* is tense, quick to anger and resentful
* is insensitive to your feelings and opinions
* is suspicious and paranoid
* has frequent mood swings

Spot on, in my unfortunate experience. (Thanks Dad.)

[Linda Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book showed me that I'm not alone. I was in an emotionally abusive relationship for years, and for a long time, I thought it was becasue I wasn't being a good enough wife. I now realise just how controlling my partner was, and how low my self-esteem had become. It was a great comfort to read this book and know i'm not the only one. I only wish I'd rea dit sooner.