Book: Cradled in the Arms of Compassion, by Frank Rogers Jr.

This book has been a God-send. Frank tells his story about childhood sexual abuse and the long, difficult journey to healing and hope. Whether you are a survivor of childhood sexual abuse or not, there is much wisdom within the pages of this book. It is raw, real, and yet full of hope.

From the author:

This book tells a painful story. And it can be a painful read. It chronicles the experience of childhood sexual abuse, its torturous aftermath, and the long, anguishing road to psychological and spiritual well-being. Some scenes are graphic. The emotions felt are raw. The perils along the way can be harrowing.

If at any point it becomes too much, take a break. Put the book down and go for a walk, bake bread, run a bath, tend a garden, sip tea, and watch the sunset. Listen to your body and care for its needs in the way that you know how. The
book will still be there whenever you are ready.

And if you are a survivor yourself, and you become flooded by memories or emotions that are engulfing, lay the book aside altogether and tend to your regulation and recovery. Seek out someone to talk to. Metabolize your pain. Respect the pace of true inner healing. And go as slow as your body necessitates. Take all the time that you need before coming back to this book ten days, ten years, or even not at all.

My primary hope in writing this book is that other survivors will know that there are people, much like them, who have also been abused, that the shames that fester in the secrets that we hide can be disclosed and faced with resilience, and that genuine healing is possible.

This book need not be read to serve that purpose.

If scanning but a few pages, or its mere appearance in a bookstore, inspires one person to claim the truth of their experience, to share their pain with a caring listener, and to step toward an emboldened recovery, then its writing will have been worth it. The unread book can become a back-seat companion. Its sheer presence in the world can bear testimony: To those on the journey, “You are not alone. There is at least one person who gets it. And healing can come through telling your story.”

Frank Rogers Jr