Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion

For more than thirty years, our nation has argued about abortion. In that time, over twenty-five million women have had one or more abortions.

These conflicts reflect the ambivalence and psychological discord which also occur within individuals. Even women who chose abortion for the most compelling reasons often face a daily internal battle between defending and condemning themselves.

While the political battle rages, little has been done to address the emotional needs of those who struggle with feelings of grief, shame, guilt, feeling judged by others--and more. Instead, social taboos have been erected that stifle discussion of abortion-related feelings. Women are left feeling isolated and their recovery is inhibited.

Psychotherapist Theresa Burke, Ph.D., has treated more than 2,000 women struggling with post-abortion pain. Many had been rebuffed by other therapists who would not believe their abortions had caused such trauma. Others came to her because their family and friends refused to acknowledge the reality of their grief.

In Forbidden Grief, Dr. Burke explores the cultural and psychological obstacles to post-abortion healing. She examines why friends and families erect walls of silence around a loved one's grief and reveals how we can and should listen to those who are struggling with past abortions.

Drawing on the experience and insights of hundreds of her clients, Dr. Burke also shows how repressed feelings may be acted out through self-destructive behavior, broken relationships, obsessions, eating disorders, parenting difficulties, and other emotional or behavioral problems.

• Learn the secrets that women who have had abortions tell only to their therapists, but want everyone to understand.
  
• Understand how traumatic abortion experiences can be reenacted through repeat pregnancies, abortions, substance abuse, eating disorders, and broken relationships.
  
• Discover how to help loved ones--or yourself--take the steps needed to find healing and joy.

Forbidden Grief also explains how to help loved ones, or yourself, simply by better understanding the nature and origin of unresolved abortion issues--and what steps will help you find healing. You'll also learn about the most up-to-date research on abortion problems, and the fight within the psychiatric community over recognizing post-abortion trauma.

What readers are saying:

"I had an abortion when I was 16 and struggled with the aftermath for 19 years. This eye-opening book offers the general public a clear picture of the everyday realities of the post-abortion experience. Most importantly, it gives women permission to face and resolve their feelings of loss, ambivalence, guilt, or grief." -- Georgette Forney, post-abortion counselor

"Magnificent. It is the model of the tenderness and compassion needed by all who approach the women who struggle with this particular grief of our modern era."--Patrick F. Fagan, Ph.D.

"Once in a while a rare book comes along that wrenches every nerve in our bodies and seeks out every crevice of our souls. This is one of those books, and it must be read from cover to cover." -- Diane Irving, Ph.D.

Author: Theresa Burke
Publisher: Acorn Books
Published: 09/05/2000
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780964895799

About the Author
Burke, Theresa: - Theresa Burke, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist and founder of Rachel's Vineyard, a post-abortion training and healing ministry that serves women and men throughout North America and overseas.Reardon, David C.: - David C. Reardon, Ph.D., director of the Elliot Institute, is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on the aftereffects of abortion on women. He is the author of numerous books and popular and scholarly articles on this topic. He has been a noted advocate of healing programs for women, men, and families who have lost children to abortion, miscarriage, or neonatal death. His studies have been published in such prestigious medical journals as the British Medical Journal and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and have proven that abortion compared to childbirth is associated with higher rates of maternal death, psychiatric hospitalization, subsequent substance abuse, clinical depression, and numerous other complications. The emphasis of his work has been on promoting a "pro-woman / pro-life" approach to the abortion issue which emphasizes efforts to prevent coerced and unsafe abortions and efforts to create a more healing environment for women, men and families hurting because of a past abortion. Articles about Dr. Reardon and his work have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Newsweek and the New York Times.

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