This book is a difficult read, whether you are a victim or not. I am sure you know victims, though, as do I. Too many victims.

This is a powerful, and deep, resource for victims. While it is primarily for sexual assault, I would encourage any victim of abuse, or anyone working with victims of any abuse, to read this book.

I plan on reading this several more times through, as it is too much for me to get in one pass. ( )

The Holcomb's write a very helpful book on the subject of the sin of abuse and the shame it engenders do victims and survivors. It is well written and offers real hope. The stories of survivors show the horror of the subject but also show how the books ideas can change your life. While there are many books on dealing with abuse socially, emotionally Etc, this book deals with the subject theologically. What does God say about abuse? How can faith in God and an awareness of his grace help survivors and perpetrators? I also noticed a newer version has a helpful appendix which gives suggestions on what to say and what not to say to a victim. These can also be found online at the Holcomb's website.

One slight quibble is that the Holcomb's depend heavily on Cornelius Plantinga's "vandalism of shalom" paradigm. As DA Carson has shown, this approach is not wrong but it possibly obscured the Bible's teaching on sin. Carson says, "Human sin in Gen 3 certainly destroys human relationships and brings a curse on the creation, but treating this comprehensive odium as the vandalism of shalom makes it sound both too slight and too detached from God. After all, the fundamental act was disobeying God, and a central ingredient in the temptation of Eve was the incitement to become as God, knowing good and evil."

Besides this, the book is excellent. ( )

A good read. It began to feel a bit repetitive at the end, but that's not necessarily a bad thing – the target audience really needs to hear the same things over and over (don't we all?). Still, I think the first 7-8 chapters were much better than the last few, which basically shifted into a more general theology approach, which isn't the authors' strength.

Lengthier review forthcoming elsewhere. ( )