The Trauma of Sexual and Domestic Violence

Navigating My Way through Individuals, Religion, Policing, and the Courts

Sharon Ellis Davis

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781666715415, 9781666715422
• eBook ISBN: 9781666715439
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies

Recovering from the trauma of sexual and domestic violence is a process that can lead you to find your own strength. Shaped by a faith identity incongruent with her reality as a survivor of sexual and physical abuse, Ellis Davis became intimately familiar with domestic violence and the church's reluctance to intervene. Then, using marriages as a touchstone for self-discovery only led her into increasingly violent relationships. Even while navigating the process to wholeness as a woman police officer, Ellis Davis was not assured an expedient process through the courts nor protection from male police officers. Determined to define her worth for herself, Ellis Davis shares with liberating vulnerability decades of blessings and betrayals as she self-actualized from being a victim of domestic violence and sexual traumas to becoming victoriously accomplished and deeply content. This book provides hope for survivors, pastoral wisdom for seminarians, cultural sensitivity for service providers, and is useful as a guide for faith-based study groups.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Childhood Sexual Violence
• Chapter 2: The Escape Plan
• Chapter 3: Sin, Shame, Guilt, and Dirty Stains
• Chapter 4: I Made It to Hell
• Chapter 5: Prepare for War in Times of Peace
• Chapter 6: Contradictions in Church and Circumstances
• Chapter 7: Me, My Mind, My Body, and My Home—All Depressed
• Chapter 8: Concluding Thoughts: Reflections and Lessons—Blessings, Trauma, and Resilience
• Afterword
• Bibliography