Crazy Love
This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you, can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out.” —The West Wing, 02x10
So far in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we’ve featured two research-based nonfiction books for Bibliotherapy Thursday. These types of books can be invaluable when navigating painful situations; Knowledge is power and the more we understand a situation, the better we’re able to handle it. Yet these books are often purposefully written from a more objective viewpoint, and while personal experiences of interviewees or clients are often included, there’s nothing like hearing someone tell their story start to finish and knowing that they could truly empathize with what you’ve been through. If that sounds like something that might be comforting, Leslie Morgan Steiner’s Crazy Love may be just the ticket.
Steiner is a survivor of domestic violence who has been very open about her struggle to recognize the abusive nature of her relationship while she was in it. After publishing her memoir, she spoke to hundreds of people who discovered parallels between her story and theirs and came to the same difficult realization. Inspired by these experiences, Steiner became an advocate for survivors of abuse and created the first TED Talk by a domestic violence survivor. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth a watch. Steiner is so engaging and it’s an excellent video to share with friends and family who are unaware of the nature of domestic violence. It’s also the origin of one of my absolute favorite quotes: Abuse thrives only in silence.
You can find Crazy Love in print, e-book, and audiobook at these retailers:
Morning Light doesn’t receive compensation for sharing book recommendations, nor do we receive a commission if you choose to buy the book. We just love them and think some of our clients may find them useful!