One of the best ways to spend late summer evenings is curled up under a soft blanket with a great book. In anticipation of the fall season and Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October), we asked the Springdale Public Library to put together a reading list including 10 titles that you can find physically at the library AND enjoy digitally. We'd like to thank the Springdale Public Library for their continued partnership and for creating such a thoughtful list of books for our community to check out!
1. Surviving: Why We Stay and How We
Leave Abusive Relationships
by Beverly Gooden
With unflinching vulnerability and compassion, an abuse survivor shares her own story of survival to answer the question “Why did you stay?,” offering help to those who want to leave and rebuild their lives and strategies for overcoming the barriers survivors often face.
Also available digitally on Libby
2. No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us
by Rachel Louise Snyder
An award-winning journalist explores America's epidemic of domestic violence and how it has been misunderstood, sharing insights into what domestic violence portends about other types of violence and what countermeasures are needed today.
Also available digitally on Libby
3. Assume Nothing: A Memoir of Intimate Violence
by Tanya Selvaratnam
A combination of memoir, reporting, and research, Assume Nothing is an examination of a frightening type of abuse of power. Tanya uses her abuse at the hands of former New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to expose the prevalence of intimate partner violence—and offers steps to recognize, expose, and end it.
4. Daily Wisdom for Why Does He Do That?: Encouragement for Women Involved With Angry and Controlling Men
by Lundy Bancroft
This collection of meditations is a source of reassurance designed to speak to women in relationships with angry and controlling men. It helps you to digest what is happening one piece at a time so that you can gain clarity, safety, and freedom.
5. Women with Controlling Partners: Taking Back Your Life from a Manipulative or Abusive Partner
by Carol A. Lambert
Women with Controlling Partners will help you identify the coercive constraints that can be predictive of intimate partner abuse, recognize the harmful effects of psychological abuse on your mental and physical health, and gain the personal strength and power to break free.
6. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind,
and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel Van der Kolk
Van der Kolk uses scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. This book exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.
Also available digitally on Libby
The following titles are available as e-books
on Libby. Learn more about accessing
e-books/the online library at the bottom
of this page).
7. If He's So Great Why Do I Feel So Bad?: Recognizing and Overcoming Subtle Abuse
by Avery Neal
Nearly half of all women—and men—in the United States experience psychological abuse without realizing it. Manipulation, deception, and disrespect leave no physical scars, but they can be just as traumatic as physical abuse. This groundbreaking book helps you recognize the warning signs of subtle abuse. As you learn to identify patterns that have never made sense before, you are better equipped to make changes.
8. Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
by Lundy Bancroft
In this groundbreaking bestseller, Lundy Bancroft—a counselor who specializes in working with abusive men—uses his knowledge about how abusers think to help women recognize when they are being controlled or devalued, and to find ways to get free of an abusive relationship.
9. See What You Made Me Do: The Dangers of Domestic Abuse That We Ignore, Explain Away, or Refuse to See
by Jess Hill
This groundbreaking book sheds light on the insidious nature of domestic abuse, challenging our preconceived notions and urging us to acknowledge the horrifying reality many victims face.
10. When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Heal the Wounds of Witnessing Abuse
by Lundy Bancroft
This guide reveals how abusers interact with and manipulate children—and how mothers can help their children recover from the trauma of witnessing abuse.
So what are you waiting for? Get a head start on Domestic Violence Awareness Month by visiting the Springdale Public Library and checking out a book or two! (Click here for directions.)
Remember - Anyone can come and access the library's collection for free. If you're unable to get or don't want a library card or don't want to check materials out, you're welcome to come in just to read! If you do have a library card, rest assured that your checkout history and all account information (address, contact information, etc.) is private and will not be shared with anyone.
Obtaining a library card is FREE to anyone that lives, works, owns property or goes to school in Washington County. To get your library card, visit the Springdale Public Library with a valid form of ID and proof of address. You can also make an online card giving you immediate access all of the Library's online resources (including the e-books/audiobooks mentioned on the list).
Visit https://springdalelibrary.org/library-cards/ to make an online library card today!
