I recently had a run-in with someone who turned out to be totally emotionally abusive. I had a few warning signs, but I waited to see how they would play out. For example, she would… The Abuser’s Toolbox

[A first draft sample from Facing Abuse] Emotional abuse is often thought of as a lesser kind of abuse. An article about domestic violence from insurance provider Prudential, for example, states that “When a partner… Emotional Abuse

You know what? “Because I Said So” has the perfect name. This fluffy flick about a deeply codependent, boundaryless family recently showed up on a lot of people’s “Worst Movies of 2007” lists. Ebert and… A Terrible Movie, And Not Just Because I Said So

I wish, frankly, that writers had more self-esteem. We are just not people who stalk into the corporate offices and make demands. That famous deal the Guild took, whereby we agreed to let eighty percent… Standing Up For Ourselves

The wonderful thing about the mainstream media is that millions of people open their front doors every week to pick up a colorfully drawn visual guide to abuse and its effects. The less wonderful thing… Why the Comics Aren’t Funny

This book by Karen Kingston seems misnamed. Kingston talks briefly about feng shui, but the bulk of the book is simply about clearing the energy of a given space and filling it with things we… Tools of Recovery: Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui

A friend forwarded me this list. (If anyone knows the origin and author of this list, please let me know!) 12 Characteristics of A Healthy Relationship 1. Healthy relationship with one’s self and with God.… Characteristics of Healthy Relationships

Bodywork is a short word for a wide rainbow of different practices. It includes regular massage, deep tissue massage, the laying-on of hot stones or of warm cups, or Breema, a kind of massage that… Tools of Recovery: Bodywork

We have been extremely impoverished in most of our literature about abuse. There are dozens of innovative tools available to all of us for dealing with the effects of abuse, but most of our literature… Red hammers and yellow screwdrivers

I used to be confused about sexual abuse. I knew that it was really horrible to be an abuse survivor – not that I was one, no, of course not – but I didn’t understand… An Equal and Opposite Reaction