Double Vision

This is a compassionate and brave book about a woman's journey to heal from the incest and ritual abuse she experienced as a child and young adult. Stylistically, the writing is beautiful in a way that illuminates yet does not mask the brutality of her past experiences. This is important because the eloquence of her language captures that which is most critical to a survivor's work: the dignity and heart of the spirit and a refusal to surrender to monsters under the bed and shadows in the night. Instead, the author dances with her demons and her dreams in a way that I find touching and haunting. My praise is unapologetically lauditory, because I can honestly say that this book has touched me more deeply than probably any other I have read about healing from sexual abuse and trauma, and one that all of us on a journey to heal can benefit from. The author puts responsiblity where it belongs (on those who abused her) yet takes self-responsibilty for her own healing quest. If you are a survivor of severe sexual or ritual abuse, or someone who wants to understand a survivor, as well as understand the complexity of the "dual" worlds of order and chaos in a family where abuse occurs, you will surely find something in this book which can feed and fuel heart, mind, and self.

As a ritual abuse survivor, I found this book very helpful. The reading is painful at times but left me feeling far less alone and "different." This book was an important step in my healing and in helping my friends understand my experience. I am very grateful for its existence and the author's bravery and honesty.

A brave and true account of SRA that gives insight to victims' feelings, as well as a special understanding of perpetrators. Anna takes readers by the hand and brings them along through her journey.

I read a lot of books, and this is the best one I've read in a long time. The courage, honesty, wit and wisdom displayed with such grace and talent by the writer is rare and impressive. Double Vision deals with the range of human experience in a clear and loving manner, without manipulation, cliche, or easy formula. In light of the recent vicious, and ill-considered, backlash against issues of childhood trauma and the recovering of those memories, I can be nothing but awed by the courage it took to write this book and the courage it took to publish it. My heartfelt congratulations, therefore, to the author and the editor in charge of this project.

Anna Richardson's Double Vision is an important, timely, and well-written work. I began the book because the subject is one of interest to me, and was prepared to like it simply because it told an important truth. The book greatly exceeded my expectations, in being so intelligent, thoughtful, and even charming in its treatment of very difficult material. Author and publisher are owed a debt of gratitude for bringing us this work. I think it will have a tremendous positive impact on other abuse survivors as well as the general public. It is a book that needed to be written.