GFW PTSD Home  | Site Map

Gift From Within
PTSD Resources for Survivors and Caregivers
"In Memory"
Support Pal Form -
Survivors find peer support
Book reviews by members of
GFW's Support Pal Network
Topics:

Child Abuse & Recovery | Compassion Fatigue | Depression | Domestic Violence | DID/MPD/BPD
Grief & Loss | Healing & Recovery | Healing & Recovery for Men | Inspirational | Memoirs | PTSD
Rape & Recovery | Religion & Spirituality| Self Harm | Self Help | Neurophysiology
Trauma & Addiction | Veterans | Women's Studies
Favorite Novels

Audio/CD | DVD
Veterans:
Joyce:


Down Range: To Iraq and Back," by Bridget C., Ph.D. Cantrell (Author), Chuck Dean (Author). $16.99.


I met Dr. Bridget Cantrell one of the authors of this book at a conference on trauma.
This informative and supportive book is outstanding in how it explains the spiritual and emotional challenges that our soldiers face upon returning to their homes, families and communities. The book gives the soldier and spouse concrete exercises, suggestions and tips on how to make the homecoming easier. For instance, a soldier comes home from combat and may not want to be in crowds or places that don't feel safe as it may bring up reminders that most people may not give a second thought. A wife or loved one may be able to prepare activities that are more suitable. Children may wonder why the parent is not as carefree or emotionally available. This book helps prepare the family for all sorts of events that may occur and can help prevent rifts and arguments and hurt feelings.

Dr. Cantrell and Chuck Dean clearly explain, and provide answers about stress, depression, flashbacks and other symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This book covers major symptoms of PTSD, warning signs of PTSD, recovery, trust issues, going back to work, guilt, sleep disorders, vet to vet support groups and much more. There is also a short course at the back of the book that helps family members and loved ones prepare for the eventual return of those serving in a war zone.

Dr. Cantrell's primary work encompasses therapeutic counseling, and workshops for war veterans and their families. With a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Cantrell is a licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of Washington, and a Nationally Board Certified Mental Health Counselor. She currently works as one of a small number of specially selected and trained Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs PTSD Contractors. She conducts workshops and speaks to soldiers and their families on the effects of war zone stress around the United States and overseas.

Chuck Dean served with the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C. in 1963, and then on Okinawa with the 173d Airborne Brigade in 1964. He was one of the first Army paratroopers deployed to fight in South Vietnam in May of 1965. Upon his return back to the United States, Chuck became a drill instructor and trained troops through the years of 1967-1969. Through his military experiences he has written several books to help other veterans go through a healing process from their wartime experiences

For more information about Dr. Cantrell's work go to www.heartstowardhome.com
Women's Studies:
Carolyn:


The Dance of the Dissident Daughter," by Sue Monk Kidd (Author), HarperOne Publishers. $11.16.


The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd carries the subtitle A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine. Kidd's awakening to this Sacred Feminine which forms the first chapters in the book came when she was in her late 30's and seemed to have every advantage of a successful female in America. At that point several events coalesced to make her painfully aware that she had bought into the patriarchal model of God as male and thus "contained solely in a book, church, dogma, liturgy, theological system, or transcendent spirituality."

In the second part of the book Kidd struggles to let go of this model and enter a period of initiation or darkness to consciously intend to find an immanent model of spirituality within her own experience as a woman. This new model will allow God to be fully seen as Goddess, offering Kidd permission to embrace "the holiness of every natural, ordinary, sensual and dying moment" of her life.

Grounding herself in this new consciousness forms the third part of the book. She goes to conferences to learn and share with others, reads all she can about the feminine from native, classical, and religious(mostly Christian) traditions, travels to places where the feminine was once worshiped as divine, sets up a home altar to display Goddess images she collects, and performs rites and ceremonies alone and with others to outwardly ground herself in this new information. .

Finally, she relates how such grounding changed her deep Soul and her roles as church member, wife, mother, and writer in the section entitled Empowerment. In this section she writes "When what we have learned and lived during our journey begins to flow in these places - into our garden hoeing and our child rearing and our relationships to our neighbors - then we begin to affect the would around us in the most intimate, natural, and profound ways."

Kidd does not deal with the subject of the more profound patriarchal wound of sexual abuse which I believe may find tacit sanction in a male dominated religion. Yet I believe women with this experience can use her book as companion on their journeys to full embodied feminine spiritual life.
Purchase at Amazon
DVD:
Copyright © 1995-2008 Gift from Within, Camden, Maine 04843
html Conversion Copyright © 1995-2008 SourceMaine, Belfast, Maine 04915
Content may not be reproduced on websites without express permission. Please link instead.
Page created on 4/25/07
Last updated by 9 July 2008
click here for a free hit counter
Download a hit counter!
Click this link to Amazon and
your purchases will help support
Gift From Within. Please note that our videos are not available through Amazon.
In Association with Amazon.com