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Resource Books for Teens
These teen-friendly resources were selected to help young people understand and process the physical and emotional effects of abuse. Many include guidance on how to cope with difficult feelings, build confidence, and start moving forward after trauma.
The book list in this category was compiled by Natalia Tukhareli MLIS, PhD, the Founder and Executive Director of the Read to Connect organization.
Invisible Girls: The Truth About Sexual Abuse
Feuereisen, Patti and Caroline Pincus. Seal Press, 2009.
Dr. Patti Feuereisen has been working with teenage girls for twenty-five years and has been a pioneer in helping abused girls find their voices. The book weaves together powerful first-person narratives with gentle guidance and seasoned insights to help girls through the maze of feelings that swirl around the abuse experience. This gives every young woman who struggles with the scars of sexual abuse the courage that comes from knowing that she is not alone, while other girls come out from behind the veil of secrecy to become vibrant, healthy, and whole. Buy from Amazon.ca by clicking on the image.
It Happened to Me: A Teen’s Guide to Overcoming Sexual Abuse.
Lee, Carter. New Harbinger Publications, 2002.
Whether sexual abuse happens in early childhood or just before leaving home, most trauma survivors find that the teenage and early adult years are crucial for their recovery. With the right kind of support, it’s then that they have the motivation and capacity for insight that will let them begin the process of healing. This workbook is written for teens and those who treat them. Simple, effective exercises help teens learn about the different aspects of trauma, share the thoughts and emotions of other survivors, clarify their own ideas and beliefs, and explore new ways of feeling and relating. Buy from Amazon.ca by clicking on the image.
How Long Does It Hurt: A Guide to Recovering from Incest and Sexual Abuse for Teenagers, Their Friends, and Their Families
Mather, Cynthia L. Jossey-Bass, 2004.
This is the revised and updated edition of the best-selling book written by an incest survivor for future survivors. This step-by-step guide speaks directly to victims of sexual abuse to help them come to grips with what is happening to them and overcome their feelings of isolation, confusion, and self-doubt. Buy from Amazon.ca by clicking on the image.
Stolen Innocence: Triumphing Over a Childhood Broken by Abuse: A Memoir
Merryn, Erin. Deerfield Beach, Florida: HCI Books, 2005.
Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn’s life was transformed on the night her cousin sexually abused her, someone she loved and trusted. As the abuse continued, and as she was forced to see her abuser over and over again in social situations, she struggled with self-doubt, panic attacks, nightmares and the weight of whether or not to tell her terrible secret. It wasn’t until a traumatic series of events showed her the cost of silence that she chose to speak out, in the process destroying both her family and the last of her innocence. Through her personal diary, written during the years of her abuse, Erin Merryn shares her journey through pain and confusion to inner strength and, ultimately, forgiveness. Raw, powerful and unflinchingly honest, Stolen Innocence is the inspiring story of one girl’s struggle to become a woman, and a bright light on the pain and devastation of abuse. Buy from Amazon.ca by clicking on the image.
Straight Talk about Child Abuse
Newton, Sydney and Julie Gerrits. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2010.
The book addresses issues related to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The book includes Coping Toolbox, Hot Topics Q&A and a list of resources for teens. Reading level: Grade 5. Buy from Amazon.ca by clicking on the image.
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs
Wall, Elissa.HarperCollins, 2009.
In September 2007, a packed courtroom in St. George, Utah, sat hushed as Elissa Wall, the star witness against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, gave captivating testimony of how Jeffs forced her to marry her first cousin at age fourteen. This harrowing and vivid account proved to be the most compelling evidence against Jeffs, showing the harsh realities of this closed community and the lengths that Jeffs went to in order to control the women in it. Buy from Amazon.ca by clicking on the image.