I Thought We’d Never Speak Again

I Thought We’d Never Speak Again: The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation, by Laura Davis. ( 2013)

From Amazon.com – In her bestselling classic The Courage to Heal, Laura Davis helped millions heal from the pain of child sexual abuse. Now, in I Thought We’d Never Speak Again, she tackles another critical, emerging issue: reconciling relationships that have been damaged by betrayal, anger, and misunderstanding.

With clarity and compassion, Davis maps the reconciliation process through gripping first-person stories of people who have mended relationships in a wide variety of circumstances. In these pages, parents reconcile with children, embittered siblings reconnect, angry friends reunite, and war veterans and crime victims meet with their enemies. Davis weaves these powerful accounts with her own experiences reconciling with her mother after a long, painful estrangement.

Making a crucial distinction between reconciliation and forgiveness, Davis explains how people can make peace in relationships without necessarily forgiving past hurts. In addition to a special section called “Ideas for Reflection and Discussion,” she includes a self-assessment quiz, “Are You Ready for Reconciliation?”

Whether you want to reconcile a relationship that has ended, improve a relationship that is difficult or distant, or learn the skills you need for dealing with the inevitable conflicts we all face in life, this book will teach you to mend troubled relationships and find peace.

 

Common Problems Abuse Survivors Face

 

In relationships … fighting, blaming, mistrusting, poor communication skills and difficulty with intimacy.

Low Self Esteem … self-doubt, self-blame, shame.

Self Sabotage … self-destructive or self-mutilating behavior.

Sexual Problems … sexual inhibition or promiscuity, flashbacks to abusive experiences during sexual contact, inability to achieve orgasm, pain or numbing during intimacy, lack of interest in sex.

Symptoms of Trauma … fear, panic, agitation, anxiety, numbing of bodily areas, nightmares, multiple personalities, feelings of being disconnected from body.

Physical Ailments … psychosomatic illnesses, stomachaches, eating disorders, skin disorders, asthma, headaches and phobias.

Social Alienation … feeling different from others, not accepted, stigmatized.

Difficulty in Handling Feelings … trouble in recognizing, managing and appropriately expressing feelings.

Moral Injury

NPR Podcast

Moral Injury Is The ‘Signature Wound’ Of Today’s Veterans

November 11, 2014, 4:29pm ET

http://www.npr.org/2014/11/11/363288341/moral-injury-is-the-signature-wound-of-today-s-veterans