Shattered Reality by Kimberly Cheryl

Stars: ***1/2

This review is part of the Pump Up Your Book Blog Tour.

Shattered Reality is the story of when the author found out her daughter was being sexually abused by an Uncle. Although we hear from the daughter at one point, the book is mostly by the mother. It starts on the “Day of Disclosure” and ends in the present, while waiting for some closure. After the story is many pages of information on Sexual Abuse and PTSD.

I read this book in 2 1/2 hours with a few stops in between to put children to bed and make a snack. I haven’t done that in a while. Unlike other books about abuse, this one is written as if the author is standing on a soapbox in front of a group of people, stating her case and trying to convince us of something. Which in a way she is. The last few chapters and the startling statistics at the end show up what a horrible job the U.S. Judicial system is doing with sexual abuse cases. (I’m guessing it’s not much better in Canada, but please enlighten me as I don’t know the specifics.)

The way Kimberly writes, it really draws you in and gets you upset too. In fact as someone who is struggling with mental health myself, it probably wasn’t a book I should have read, only because of the strong emotions that were brought out.

Pages 113 – 160 are all information. It started off well with statistics and answers to common questions such as what are the signs of CSA (Child Sexual Abuse), why don’t the children tell someone about CSA, destructive behaviours as a result of CSA (how they react when they are older), how to minimize the risk of CSA in daycare and most importantly, what to do if your child discloses CSA.

However the second section continues on, and on, and on with medical information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I understand it’s a common issue with those who have gone through abuse but I don’t think it was this book’s job to go over the common treatments for PTSD and in such detail. Honestly the last 20 pages bore me. If I’m reading Shattered Reality because I have an interest in abuse cases, the PTSD does not apply to me. If I’m reading it because I or one of my family/friends has been a victim of CSA, then knowing about PTSD may be important but I would go to my doctor to find out more about it. I just think the last 20 pages were unnecessary.

With that said though, I think it is a good story to read, especially if you are victimized, know someone who was victimized, are a parent of someone who was victimized, are planning on working in the field to help those who were victimised or are a member of the U.S. Judicial System (or someone who is in a position to change it.)

About the Author: The author is also a marketing professional with a few other books under her belt and is founder and managing partner of Executive Defense Technology, LLC an anti-victimization firm. You can find out more by going to http://kimberlycheryl.net/ , http://execdefttech.com/ or http://myshatteredreality.com/ The third website has all kinds of information you may find helpful.