My review for How I Forgave My Molester by Melinda Todd.

About the book:

Have you ever struggled to forgive someone? Would you be able to forgive someone from one of the most horrific crimes committed against a child? "How I Forgave My Molester" is a powerful book by author Melinda Todd. She tells her story of childhood heartbreak and destruction by someone close to her. She also shares her journey on healing and forgiveness.

This e-book provides a step-by-step guide to claiming victory over the bondage of sexual abuse. These steps can also be applied in any situation where forgiveness is needed. Also included are printable scripture memory verses.

You too can have healing and peace. Jesus said we are set free. Are you ready to claim your freedom?

My review:

I enjoyed this book because it was concise and to the point without being overly graphic or detailed. It also had a positive and uplifting message with sound advice to follow. I loved the scriptures included and the author's perspective. She also made mention of something that as a social worker in child welfare situations I've come across often when children are molested. The way the "safe" adults respond to the information given by the child can help them heal, or hurt them emotionally even worse than the abuse itself.

The author shows clearly in her booklet that being believed and helped matters. When the truth is ignored and there is no consequence to the perpetrator, the victim is further damaged by thinking they were somehow wrong themselves or that they weren't loved enough to be believed and protected. Why had nothing happened to the person who was the one doing the hurting? In everyone's mind that is a VERY good question. In a child's mind, it just makes them question their own sanity. If it happened, then why had nothing changed? Did they just imagine it? But then it's confirmed by others, confirming their belief that it really did happen, and the pain rises to the surface all over again.

Someone close to me had this exact same experience. When we were in our twenties she asked me, "Do you remember me telling you that someone hurt me when I was eight?" I said yes, I did. But I was only 11 at the time and didn't know what to do with that info myself, but I remembered telling her to tell an adult, which she did, and it was ignored because the adult didn't know what to do. She sighed and said, "Good because for a while there I thought I was going crazy and that it never happened because nothing was done about it." So I saw first hand how troubling that can be and how much it hurts the victim, and not just through my job, but in real life as well.

I highly recommend this resource for women who have been hurt by molesters and also to young women who are trying to deal with the ramifications of the abuse. This booklet will lead toward the kind of healing that comes from God. Everything in this booklet is sound advice and well-thought-out, which tells me the author has definitely experienced healing or she wouldn't be able to describe it so well.


How I Forgave My Molester was published by the author using Amazon Digital Services and was released in 2011.