Overview

Stephanie Weaver didn't understand why her relationship with her church deacon father was so difficult. Until she did. At age 30, memories of her childhood sexual abuse came roaring back, threatening to destroy her life and her family. Confronting her parents didn't help-they denied everything. She took the only path open: going no contact for more than a decade. In the process, she found her voice, began a deep process of healing, and eventually the desire to reconnect. Bitter, Sweet is for anyone who believes their family is too broken to heal but desperately wants to know that they're not alone. Weaver shares the tools she used to move forward, the insights gained that changed her perspective, and the deep love underlying it all. If you're one of the 69 million Americans navigating family estrangement, the 1 in 5 women who have survived childhood sexual abuse, or anyone grappling with the legacy of narcissistic family dynamics, Bitter, Sweet offers you a lifeline. In these pages you'll discover how to: Navigate estranged family relationships with grace and clarity. Reclaim your identity and agency after childhood trauma. Set boundaries and heal from the wounds of narcissistic parents. You are not alone. Your story matters. And healing is always within reach.

Full Product Details

9781960456373

Table of Contents

Reviews

""A masterclass in healing, unlearning shame, and ultimately making peace with the challenging people in our lives..."" --Laura Davis, author of The Courage to Heal and The Burning Light of Two Stars ""In Bitter, Sweet Stephanie Weaver takes us on her journey of discovery, self-realization, healing, and ultimately, love..."" --Jessica Fein, author of Breath Taking and host of I Don't Know How You Do It podcast ""Weaver's memoir is a gift to anyone struggling to navigate the complex grief that accompanies losses society is challenged to name..."" --Meghan Riordan Jarvis, MA LICSW, author of Can Anyone Tell Me: Essential Questions About Grief and Loss ""Bitter, Sweet shares with the reader how the lifelong pain of child sexual abuse challenged the author to grow--and ultimately to forgive..."" --Frederic Luskin, PhD, author of Forgive for Good, Director of The Stanford Forgiveness Projects ""Stephanie Weaver's memoir Bitter, Sweet reads like a novel and takes us deep into the story of a family dealing with estrangement and recovery from childhood sexual abuse..."" --Lian Dolan, USA Today best-selling author of The Marriage Sabbatical ""With clarity and vulnerability, Weaver shows us that no matter the shape of childhood trauma and family dysfunction, personal healing is possible..."" --Ingrid Clayton, PhD author of Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves--and How to Find Our Way Back ""Weaver shares with her readers how the lifelong pain of child sexual abuse is amplified when family members too often deny its existence and their complicity..."" --Michelle Bowdler, author of Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto ""With insight and openness, Weaver invites the reader to accompany her as she heals from childhood sexual abuse and attempts first to distance herself from her parents and then to repair the relationship..."" --Molly Howes, PhD author of A Good Apology: Four Steps to Make Things Right ""Stephanie Weaver takes us on a roller coaster thrill ride from realization of past abuse through a search for confrontation and validation..."" --Everett L. Worthington, Jr., author of Forgiving and Reconciling: Bridges to Wholeness and Hope ""Weaver deftly dispels a myth that blocks so many families from peace: The pain of estrangement originates from the abuse, not the disclosure..."" --Jessica Waite, author of The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastard ""...Stephanie shares her story with authenticity and honesty and offers readers a human and compassionate guide for building a values-based life in the face of abuse and trauma..."" --Jennifer Caspari, PhD, author of You Are More Than Your Body ""One of life's most Herculean tasks is learning how to forgive. Some of us go to our graves without even trying."" --Cassandra Lane, author of We Are Bridges ""Bitter, Sweet is that rare book where you know the twists are coming and they shake you up just the same..."" --Allison K Williams, author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like A Pro from Blank Page to Book ""Bitter, Sweet explores the discovery of compassion and complexity as they relate to remembering our traumas."" --Tia Levings, author of The New York Times best-seller A Well-Trained Wife and I Belong To Me ""Reading this story of childhood abuse, family, resilience, and love I felt such admiration for Weaver. "" --Laura L. Engel, author of You'll Forget This Ever Happened - Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s ""Readers struggling with estrangement, potential reconciliation, and the physical and psychological fallout of abuse will find validation and hope in Weaver's memoir."" --Andromeda Romano-Lax, author of The Deepest Lake and What Boys Learn ""Through family recipes and personal stories, Weaver shares the hard-won benefits of her autonomous healing while continuing to feel the primal pull back the familial pot..."" --Ashleigh Renard, book sales coach and author of SWING

Author Information

Stephanie Weaver, MPH, is a lifelong educator and the author of five books. She blends her personal experiences living with chronic illness and childhood sexual abuse with her master's degree in public health to help others heal. Her last two books-- The Migraine Relief Plan and The Migraine Relief Plan Cookbook-- provided guidance and recipes for people living with migraine disease and were well-received by the migraine community. She lives in Oceanside, California with her husband and their Golden retriever Daisy May.

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