Voices of Hope Breaking the Silence of Relationship Violence by Wind Goodfriend, Ph.D.

In this visionary and powerful work, Pamela Lassiter Cathey and Dr. Wind Goodfriend have combined the hopeful stories of women and men who have experienced domestic violence, dating violence, and child abuse with the theoretical constructs of narrative therapy and professional trauma advocacy to create a book that will change lives. The narrative in Part One reveal the courageous voices of ten women and men who have experienced relationship violence, and have emerged on the other side as stronger and more compassionate human beings. And though the violence is horrific, the hope these writers communicate as they describe how they moved through victimization and survivorship to become the heroes of their own stories reminds all of us that even the most devastating of life's experiences can result in goodness and race. The professional guide in Part Two offers practical suggestions for how each of us can get involved individually and collectively to respond to relationship violence in the present, and to prevent it from happening in the future. This section also includes an overview of narrative therapy protocols for trauma service professionals who are interested in supporting victims and survivors in further integrating their experiences and healing more completely. Voices of Hope Breaking the Silence of Relationship Violence elegantly blends the personal with the political, the practical with the theoretical, the reality of where we are today with an optimistic vision for the future. The end result is a book that will ignite hope in those who have experienced violent relationships, in the friends and family who want to help, and in the professionals who offer support in healing from the trauma. "We may not always have a choice as to what we experience, but we always have a choice in regard to how those experiences shape who we are."