{"product_id":"being-mean-a-memoir-of-sexual-abuse-and-survival-9781631525193","title":"Being Mean: A Memoir of Sexual Abuse and Survival","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeing Mean is about learning how to acknowledge and live with incomprehensible experiences in the healthiest ways possible. Told in vignettes relative to markers of age and experience, Patricia Eagle reveals the heartbreak and destruction of sexual abuse, from age four to thirteen, by her father. Eagle uses dissociation and numbing in response to his abusive behavior, her mother’s complacency, and as a way to block her own sense of self.   How does a child come to know what is safe or unsafe, right or wrong, normal or abnormal? How does a young woman learn the difference between real love and a desire for sexual pleasure stimulated by abusive childhood sexual experiences? Careening through life, Eagle wonders how to trust others and, most importantly, herself. As a mature woman struggling to understand and live with her past, she remains earnest in her pursuit of clarity, compassion, and trust.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e2020 CIBA Journey Book Awards Finalist\u003cbr\u003e2020 Colorado Independent Publishing Association (CIPA), 3rd Place in Memoir\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e2019 Foreword INDIES Finalist in Adult Nonfiction: Autobiography \u0026amp; Memoir\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e2019 Colorado Author's League Finalist in Adult NonFiction: Historical, Autobiographical\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eBeing Mean\u003c\/i\u003e excavates the caverns of the author’s childhood trauma to expose how its tendrils tormented her long after the horrible fact. Eagle’s account is harrowing in its honesty. Traumatic as the shaping circumstances of her childhood are, she never uses them as a shield. Such frank analyses are refreshing and may provide empathetic assurance to other victims who are still in the gauntlet of recovery.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A deftly written work of commendable honesty, exceptional candor, and impressive personal courage, \u003ci\u003eBeing Mean: A Memoir of Sexual Abuse and Survival\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting, honest, and ultimately life-healing memoir with a highly relevant underlying message given today's #MeToo climate that is slowly bringing to justice even the most powerful and wealthy of pedophiles and sexual predators.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eMidwest Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eBeing Mean: A Memoir of Sexual Abuse and Survival\u003c\/i\u003e is a painful story with a message of hope for readers; a message that tells readers that they can heal and that they can reclaim their lives after sexual abuse. It's a captivating story that makes a powerful case for the millions who suffer the pain of sexual abuse in silence.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eReaders' Favorite\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Not since Alice Sebold’s \u003cem\u003eLucky\u003c\/em\u003e have I read a memoir that leans into the soul-shattering experience of early sexual trauma with such courage and intelligence. Patricia Eagle elevates the difficulty of her subject matter through her clear prose and a cohesive narrative that weaves recurring themes of betrayal, devotion, the secrets that keep us, and the redemptive wisdom of love. I wept real tears at the complexity and beauty of the healing. This book will rinse you clean.”\u003cbr\u003e—Kathleen Adams, LPC, author of \u003cem\u003eJournal to the Self\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eExpressive Writing: Foundations of Practice\u003c\/em\u003e and founder\/director of Center for Journal Therapy Inc \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Patricia Eagle’s extraordinary memoir, \u003cem\u003eBeing Mean\u003c\/em\u003e, is a testament to the power of the human spirit to prevail over childhood sexual trauma, heal itself in the act of truth-telling, and emerge from the depths of confusion with survivor’s wisdom and an open, generous heart. Eagle’s humor, candor, and determination to bring compassionate understanding to the darkest of crimes separates this book from the majority of abuse memoirs; so does her spirited refusal to sacrifice sexual freedom and pleasure to the fire of childhood incest. Daring, beautifully written, and filled with unforgettable moments, \u003cem\u003eBeing Mean\u003c\/em\u003e is one brave woman’s story of soul retrieval and finding her way through the mysteries of love. It deserves a place on your bookshelf next to Kathryn Harrison’s \u003cem\u003eThe Kiss\u003c\/em\u003e, Eve Ensler’s \u003cem\u003eThe Vagina Monologues\u003c\/em\u003e, and Bass-Davis’s \u003cem\u003eThe Courage to Heal\u003c\/em\u003e. I could not recommend it more highly.” \u003cbr\u003e—Mark Matousek, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Boy He Left Behind\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eWhen You’re Falling, Dive\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“When I first began speaking of my sexual abuse, I looked for just one woman who had relived her experiences and her feelings, and who had survived and thrived. I became that woman whom I was looking for, and Patricia Eagle can now count as another.” \u003cbr\u003e—Marilyn Van Derbur, author of \u003cem\u003eMiss America by Day\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eBeing Mean\u003c\/i\u003e is an incredible piece of writing, reconciling the most harmful aspects of the author's life to make a story she carries forward in strength and compassion. I appreciated how Patricia Eagle not only detailed her childhood experience but how that confusion\/sexualization\/trauma impacted the decades of her adult life. This is a teaching book that I hope gets to many therapists for understanding and to many survivors for validation.” \u003cbr\u003e—Christina Baldwin, author of \u003ci\u003eStorycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Seven Whispers: A Spiritual Practice for Times Like These\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"She Writes Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53188935778647,"sku":"9781631525193","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/being-mean-a-memoir-of-sexual-abuse-and-survival-9781631525193","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}