12 Helpful Books on Healing from Sexual Abuse

If younger Rachel knew I was writing and sharing this post, she would be shocked. The Rachel of last year hadn’t told the world her story, hadn’t even told her parents. It had been years since the rape, the ongoing abuse of every kind, the trauma, the pain, but she hadn’t found a way to tell the people closest to her or share it publicly yet.

But, God.

Through his grace, and through 2+ years of weekly counseling and with the help of anti-depressants and anxiety medication, and after hours of tears and prayers, I told my story last November.

It was hard. It was healing. It was huge.

And now, another year later, after even more weekly counseling sessions and additional EMDR therapy sessions, with the continued help of anti-depressants and anxiety medication, through more prayer and processing and pursuing healing, I’m at a whole new stage of the journey. I’m more free than ever before, more hopeful, more grateful for growth and God’s grace.

I so deeply wish that nobody else could relate to what it’s like to go through sexual abuse. Sadly, many can. It’s more common than we realize— a sickening and heart-breaking reality. The most quoted statistics say 1 in 4 women have been sexually abused in some way. I can’t tell you how deeply that statistic grieves me.

But instead of dwelling on that, I want to instead share help and hope in the form of books that I have both already read and plan to read as I continue in this journey of healing after sexual abuse.

My prayer is that they would be resources to aid those in their own journeys, whatever they might look like. For anyone who has gone through abuse of any kind, know that you are deeply loved, that you are not alone, and that God is with you, making all things new.

May these books bring bits of encouragement, support, and understanding along the way.

ps— if you find any of these to be triggering or troubling in any way, please do not keep reading! You know your own soul and story best— please be kind to yourself and take things at the pace that is healthiest and best for you, even if that means abandoning a book.