To The Survivors by Robert Uttaro

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To The Survivors by Robert Uttaro

To The Survivors by Robert UttaroStars: *****

CreateSpace (2013)
Self-Help/Abuse
268 pages

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Summary: To the Survivors is about one man’s journey as a rape crisis counselor with true stories of sexual violence shared by survivors in their own words. Gently and beautifully constructed, To the Survivors is moving, tender, sharp, and piercingly true all at once. Readers will encounter uncensored written stories, poems, and interviews from women and men who have experienced rape and sexual assault, plus the advocate-author voice that weaves their experiences together. The survivors are diverse in age, gender, and ethnicity, yet each gives a similarity raw and heartfelt account of his or her victimization and recovery. The authenticity and vulnerability with which survivors speak resonates profoundly. But this book is not just for survivors of sexual violence. Robert Uttaro believes anyone can benefit from the words in these pages, rape survivor or not.

To The Survivors

This was a hard book to read but a meaningful one. To The Survivors is different from other abuse books because it is not just the story of one person but of many including victims, victim’s friends and those who work with victims. The summary above is not just talking up the book it really is gentle, beautiful, tender, moving, sharp and piercing.

It’s rare to read a book about sexual abuse written by a man but I get the feeling that talking to him in person would put most abuse victims at ease, even women who were raped by men. He just has that aura about himself, so much so, that I can tell just by reading his writing.

There is nothing fancy about the layout of the book, the fonts or the paragraphs but I couldn’t stop reading the book although I had to read it in small spurts because of the upsetting material. It’s like the simple layout of the book is just perfect because it’s such a serious subject. It would seem like it was making light of the subject if it was flowery.

I definitely don’t recommend reading the book in large portions or just before bed. I always felt a little down after reading it but as long as I continued on to something different and engaging (TV for example) than it was fine. Although the book might make you down, it’s WORTH reading. There is nothing bad about the book and I think the book needs to get picked up by a publisher and spread around. Survivors NEED this book, families and friends NEED this book, anyone who works or wants to work with those abused NEED this book.

I’ve read lots about abuse and I know people who have been abused so I thought I had an idea of what abuse was like but I wasn’t prepared for some of these stories. I had never heard the sexual abuse explained with such feeling or hindsight. It moved me and it will move you.

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About Kathleen

I've been a nonfiction lover for as long as I can remember. I love children's nonfiction as well and love to share my knowledge and the books I gained them from, with the world. I wish more people would give nonfiction a chance.