When Love Hurts: A Woman's Guide to Understanding Abuse in Relationships

Description

Written by two women with first-hand experience with abuse victims, When Love Hurts introduces exercises and resources to help you make sense of your relationship, addressing all forms of abuse including verbal, emotional, financial, sexual and physical. Filled with stories from women who have been in the same position of feeling powerless and confused, this practical guidebook is a supportive and non-judgmental friend to women who don't know where to turn. Jill Cory and Karen McAndless-Davis give women the necessary tools to regain control of their lives.

Jill Cory began working with women in abusive relationships at the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter in the early 1980s. After moving to Vancouver, she pursued research that would help to understand the challenges that women face when leaving abusive relationships. For the following seven years she developed and facilitated separate group counseling programs for women and their abusive partners. Jill currently works at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre, helping healthcare providers to understand the negative impact that abuse has on women's health and to deliver women-centred care. Jill lives with David, her partner of thirty-one years, and their two adult children, Becky and Ben. Karen McAndless-Davis's passion for this issue comes from personal experience. Her partner, Bruce was abusive at the beginning of their marriage. After several years of hard work Bruce changed his abusive behavior and the beliefs underlying his actions. Karen and Bruce have now been happily married in a relationship of trust and respect for over twenty-five years. They have two children, Luke and Isaac. For many years now, she has provided individual and group counseling to women in various communities. She also travels widely to provide training on the women-centered approach presented in When Love Hurts.

"Every woman who is struggling to understand the mistreatment she is experiencing in her relationship should begin by reading the wonderful book When Love Hurts. In these pages she will find the strength, validation, and insight she needs to reclaim her life and return it to its rightful owner-her."-Lundy Bancroft, author of Why Does He Do That? "This is an excellent resource, not only for women to use on their own, but also for counselors and advocates."-Dr. Mary Russell, Professor of Social Work, University of British Columbia, Canada "I give a copy of When Love Hurts to every one of my clients. They all find it profoundly helpful. The book rings true. The authors show a deep and comprehensive understanding of what it is to live with abuse. Women say to me, 'This is my story! Only the names are different. How did they know?!'"-Daphne Wilson, Woman Abuse Support Worker, Powell River, B.C. "When Love Hurts is a great resource for any woman who is tired of taking the blame for a painful relationship. If you wonder why the man you love is hurting you-and what you can do about it-this book will give you all kinds of useful information and strategies for changing your life. Just as importantly, it makes it clear that you are not responsible for his abusive behavior."-Jackson Katz, author of The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help