My new book Choose life was released yesterday and I am so excited to reveal it. Choose life is an awareness and empowerment practical self-help workbook for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. I wrote this book for a number of reasons.

During my journey to healing from sexual abuse, I only came across a handful of self-help books on this topic, and only a couple of books that had been actually written by a survivor. I was inspired to write this book because, during the countless conversations I have had over the last 20 years talking with friends, peers and colleagues that had been sexually abused, and specifically over the last 8 as Founder of Daughter Arise supporting survivors, I realised not everyone is ready to acknowledge their experience. Support groups, therapy and speaking with someone are all a good idea, but the fact is a huge percentage of survivors find the prospect of speaking out completely overwhelming. So with that in mind, I created a book that would help them to start to process their experience in the privacy of their own home.

So what does my new book Choose Life comprises of? Well, it has information and education on what sexual abuse is, how it can affect someone’s life. I discovered how sexual abuse is viewed in certain communities and the challenges this presents in addressing the issue. I share my view on what I think could start to break down the stigma and present some workable solutions. It has practical exercises devised by me inspired by me from my time as a support group facilitator creating empowerment sessions for survivors and things that helped me on my journey to recovery. It also has affirmations, declarations, diary entries from a specific period in my life and poems. This book can be used as a resource for organisations and groups that work with sexual abuse survivors.

I have written this book as someone that has gone through sexual abuse and made it to the other side of a 29-year journey to healing. I have never written an educational or self-help book before. It was a completely different experience from writing my autobiography Daughter Arise. It was challenging in a good way and it stretched me outside of my comfort zone. I am not a counsellor or an expert in the field of sexual abuse, but I have successfully brought solutions to others.  This has resulted in the betterment of lives and I have successfully managed to live a life not defined by past sexual abuse.

The vision I have for this book is to have it released in different languages so that it can reach sexual abuse survivors across the earth. That in countries, islands and villages where there is no support of any kind, they can at least find hope or help from my book. If my book Choose life can simply help or empower one survivor, or give others a better understanding then my book will accomplish its aim.

 Choose life available is available on the store page

http://www.yemeempowerment.com/store/

• choices
• empowerment
• self-help
• sexual abuse
• solutions