Rebuilding the Garden: Healing the Spiritual Wounds of Childhood Sexual Assault

Rating:
Summary: Original and valuable, but it could have been taken further
Review: I had expected a somewhat more detailed and in depth approach of the damage done to the soul and spirit of sexual abuse victims. Instead, the author focuses mainly on energetic approaches to heal the soul and describes the damage to the soul in those terms. Ofcourse it is hard to differentiate between soul, mind and feelings in conceptual terms yet I had hoped it would have done more so. A psychology of the soul beyond energetic terms would be very worthwhile. Nevertheless, I personally value any approach that attempts to dig deeper, beyond that which we already know, for which I applaud the author.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the read
Review: If you're trying to heal from an deep wound of the spirit, this is a wonderful book. It is not a literal read, you have to take the concepts and ideas and make them yours, but in doing so you'll achieve the same goal as the author. I particularly appreciated the authors's treatment of anger. I applaud Karla Mclaren for sharing her experience. THere's a lot of life truth in these pages.

Rating:
Summary: FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR THIS VALUABLE BOOK--TEN STARS!!!
Review: Rebuilding the Garden dealt concretely with my issues of alienation and isolation from spirit, and my feelings of abandonment by God while the assaults took place.

I look back on the many years of psychotherapy I've had and now realize why it felt incomplete. Without addressing the spiritual component of the molest, I hadn't looked at the WHOLE experience.

The exercises were easy to follow and the process got easier with each try. Rather than run from the memories that came up, I was able to use McLaren's example of working with the underlying emotions to heal my energetic and spiritual boundaries. I felt energized and more powerful afterward...less like a mere "survivor" and more of a determined, focused guardian of my own spirit.

McLaren's use of humor and wit throughout the book made the work much easier. It was like I had a close friend and companion there with me, someone who eased my discomfort. Her compassion and understanding is evident throughout the book. She took obvious care not to use graphic or triggering information, unlike many of the other books I've read. Maybe other authors don't understand how traumatizing those sorts of things can be. Without all the stories about other people's pain I was more able to look at and heal my own. I am forever grateful for McLaren's encouraging example. I now feel able to heal my molest experience on the spiritual level and move forward with my life.

I strongly recommend the book for anyone who has felt like their healing was incomplete.