October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
These seven books broadly cover the topic of intimate partner violence and family violence.
Resources off campus
- Huntsman Mental Health Institute
- National Crisis Support Line: 988
"The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van Der Kolk
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In "The Body Keeps the Score," he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers' capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control and trust. He explores innovative treatments that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain's natural neuroplasticity.
"Educated" by Tara Westover
"Educated" is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.
"What My Bones Know" by Stephanie Foo
This book, while not centered around domestic violence in the intimate partner sense, is more connected to family violence/ abuse within the home, silence around it and the struggles around culturally competent supports because of how domestic violence or abuse in the home is understood in other cultures, and it ties strongly into the theme of healing. Some themes in it are trauma responses heavily influenced by cultural socialization, shame in cultures and healing practices that aren’t specific to what western healing covers.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
For years, Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, as she uses a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes—to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic.
"No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know about Domestic Violence Can Kill Us" by Rachel Louise Snyder
In "No Visible Bruises," journalist Rachel Louise Snyder frames this urgent and immersive account of the scale of domestic violence in our country around key stories that explode the common myths: That if things were bad enough, victims would just leave; that a violent person cannot become nonviolent; that shelter is an adequate response; that violence inside the home is separate from other forms of violence like mass shootings, gang violence and sexual assault.
"Family Violence Across the Life Course: Research, Policy and Prevention" by Sonia Salari
Intimate partner violence, family abuse, neglect and exploitation exist for persons of all ages, so it is imperative to recognize the special vulnerabilities of victims and patterns of perpetration from early to later life. This book offers a fresh look at the research, policy and prevention work from an ecological and life course perspective.
"Walking on fire: Haitian women's stories of survival and resistance" by Beverly Bell
Beverly Bell, an activist and an expert on Haitian social movements, brings together 38 oral histories from a diverse group of Haitian women. Defying victim status despite gender- and state-based repression, they tell how Haiti's poor and dispossessed women have fought for their personal and collective survival. The women's powerfully moving accounts of horror and heroism can best be characterized by the Creole word istwa, which means both "story" and "history."