This article showcases our top picks for the ‘Books On Abuse In Relationships’. We reached out to industry leaders and experts who have contributed the suggestions within this article (they have been credited for their contributions below).
We are keen to hear your feedback on all of our content and our comment section is a moderated space to express your thoughts and feelings related (or not) to this article This list is in no particular order.
Divine Invitations by ArDenay Garner
This product was recommended by ArDenay Garner from ArDenayGarner
Divine Invitations – The 7 Spiritual Lessons of Relationships, by ArDenay Garner, offers hope to those who have experienced abuse. It is a heartfelt nonfiction narrative that teaches every woman how to move through the daily challenges of intimacy to experience more peace, positivity, and purpose. In Divine Invitations, I will show you how to L.E.A.D. so that you can live the courageous and authentic life that you desire after surviving abuse: Let go of hurtful memories from your past, Express compassion for yourself and others, Awaken your inner creativity and entrepreneurial spirit; and Discover lessons in self-betrayal that are counterproductive to the life you desire. If you want to find purpose in the messiness of your relationships, Divine Invitations, is the book for you!
No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Synder
This product was recommended by Melissa Hoppmeyer from Right Response Consulting
As a domestic violence prosecutor, this book helped put into prospective the flaws in our criminal justice system and how we have failed survivors of domestic violence especially in the area of strangulation. It provides insight of what is working around the country and urges changes to a broken system
Playing Dead by Monique Faison Ross
This product was recommended by Natalie DeYoung from WildBlue Press
Playing Dead is such an important title when discussing abuse because it really shows the progression. Faison Ross details the relationship from the beginning, noting small changes along the way that were signs of what was to come. The author also includes her numerous legal steps to keep her abusive husband away: injunctions, police warnings, and even arrest. Despite these efforts, he continues to become more abusive. One fateful Monday morning, Chris kidnapped Monique in front of her children and drove off on a nightmarish car ride that involved car crashes and rape. He mercilessly beat her on the head with a shovel and abandoned her brutalized body in the woods in the rain. He left, presuming she was dead…but was she?
TO KILL OR BE KILLED by Joni Ankerson
This product was recommended by Natalie DeYoung from WildBlue Press
This is a powerful, first-hand account of sexual abuse caused by the author’s ex-husband, who was a state police officer. Twelve years of enduring domestic violence at its absolute worst. Constant abuse, control, manipulation, and threats. Sadistic sexual deviance and sexual violence. It was only going to end one way: someone would die in our bed and someone would go to prison for murder. This is my story about domestic violence, resilience, reckoning and survival.
The $35 Wife by Kitty Kessler
This product was recommended by Kitty Kessler from KittyKessler
Kitty got pregnant at age 17 so she could leave her restrictive parents. But instead of freedom, she found herself sold and married to a delusional and abusive man for $35. Her survival would depend upon her finding her true worth.
Pieces of Me by Lizbeth Meredith
This product was recommended by Lizbeth Meredith from L.A. Meredith, LLC
Around the same time I published my memoir with themes of domestic abuse, so did author (and now my friend) Betty Hafner, who wrote Not Exactly Love. Her memoir reminds us that the choices women had to stay or leave relationships defined by violence are relatively new in the United States. My memoir, Pieces of Me, Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters, is currently optioned for television, and covers the unintended consequences of leaving a volatile marriage. My memoir, like Ms. Hafner’s, is on Amazon and is available wherever books are sold.
Power by Shahida Arabi
This product was recommended by Nidhi from The Caffables
This book has some really impactful essays which teach not only to see the toxic traits but also how to attain emotional stability after being in such relationships. I recommend this because as the name says I found it really powerful.
I Have Something To Tell You by Natalie Appleton
This product was recommended by Michelle Devani from lovedevani
This book talks about the personal experience of the author who was waiting for a reason to leave the relationship but was afraid to. And in the end, she found her true courage and left the person she loved because she felt unloved and unwanted.
Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by Lundy Bancroft
This product was recommended by Michelle Devani from lovedevani
This book discusses why your partner should always respect you no matter what. And that whatever is happening or going on in your partner’s life both of you should have mutual respect and love for one another and if not then it’s time for you to leave.
How to Fall in Love with Anyone by Mandy Len Catron
This product was recommended by Michelle Devani from lovedevani
In this book, the author speaks about not being afraid to fall in love again. She deals with love stories that are backed up with psychology so if you want a book where you can base your relationship on, this is the book for you.
Keeping the Pain in the Past by Dr. Chris Cortman
This product was recommended by Sonya Schwartz from Her Norm
Keeping the Pain in the Past by Dr. Chris Cortman and Dr. Joseph Wladen – is a self-healing book of course with guides from both doctor authors on how to heal old wounds brought upon by an abusive relationship. Both Dr. Cortman and Walden say that all of us can easily and quickly heal on our own. In this book, they have true to life examples of how patients have been healed from anxiety attacks due to sexual abuse by partners, a military officers experience war led to isolation also has faced their past and psychologically learned to heal himself.
The Body Keeps the Score by Besser Van Der Kolk
This product was recommended by Samantha Moss from Romantific
I recommend this book because it exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.
It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn
This product was recommended by Samantha Moss from Romantific
I recommend this book because offers a compelling understanding of inherited trauma and fresh, powerful tools for relieving its suffering and a transformative approach to resolving longstanding difficulties that in many cases, could not touch.