dear stupid: Letters to My Wounded Child Within

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Summary: DEAR STUPID builds a bridge for other survivors of abuse
Review: DEAR STUPID neither "preaches" nor forms opinions for the reader. It is simply one woman's journal of horrendous pain, and her ultimate success. Zandra builds a bridge for other survivors of childhood sexual abuse to follow. Now they can take advantage of the trail this courageous woman blazed, and avoid the loneliness and alienation she experienced.

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Summary: Excellent book!
Review: I began reading this book in preparation for a presentation on childhood sexual abuse for my graduate program. What I found was more than just "information". Ms. Bridger's courage is remarkable! I could not put this book down! As a survivor, I could relate to so many of the issues she presents in the book. It was incredibly helpful.

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Summary: I applaud your courage
Review: It took great courage to write about these personal experiences, much less to publish them to help others. Being a survivor, and having worked with many survivors, I don't know that I know anyone else who would have done so. This openness truly does forge a path in the wilderness for others to follow. What a tremendous relief to know I am not the only one. No survivor is. We need to know that. If you cannot relate to the title or the information within the book, I can only say I am glad for you. Because that means you didn't go through that horrific abuse. The title and the words within are not a slap to survivors, they are the truth you believe before recovery. The title actually pays homage to the survival instincts that keep abused children functioning until adulthood where they can get help and healing. They are acutally quite genious. Zandra Bridger has done a wonderful job telling "our" story and giving us credit for surviving against all odds. Thank you!

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Summary: One of the most wonderful, courageous books I have read!
Review: Please don't change the title - EVER! I am an abuse survivor and I don't know if I would have had the courage to read it had it not been for the title. It is exactly how I have felt for so many years because I thought I should be able to just let the past go. I was amazed at how much of what happened to the author emotionally is so close to my own suffering. I finally feel that I am not weak and crazy to feel this way. The passage from the introduction (about acting) on the back cover made my cry out loud because I have lived it every day for years. There is a song that came out the year I graduated High School - Robert Flack's 'Killing me softly' - that reflects the way I felt in reading this book. It was very painful yet quite wonderful at the same time. To the author - Thank you for your incredible courage! a.

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Summary: Excellent look into the healing process of a survivor.
Review: The journal entries that comprise the bulk of this work will touch any survivor as well as any non-survivor. The only concern I have is the negativity of the title. Quite frankly, if I had not been asked to critique this book for SAFAR, I would have walked right past that title, believing the book to be a nasty slap to survivors. I hope that the author will change the name of the book before its next printing.