Something's Not Right

Summary: Emotional and spiritual abuse matters. 

I am not new to the concept of emotional and spiritual abuse, but Something's Not Right is a good introductory book on abuse. It is not only about abuse within the church, but many of the examples are within a church or broadly Christian context.

I think Something's Not Right has a dual focus of validating those that have been abused and who are trying to understand their abuse and to seek healing. And at the same time, it is written toward Christian leaders who are seeking to prevent and/or be a healing place for those who have been abused. That dual focus mostly works because in the direct talk toward the abused, leaders can listen in to that discussion so that they can understand abuse better. But there are differences in how that discussion might be better focused to those two groups.

This is intended to be an introductory book. There are other places to go for more depth and nuance. Anne Marie Miller's book on how churches help those that have been sexually abused Healing Together: A Guide to Supporting Sexual Abuse Survivors is one of several books about that paraticular issue. Trauma in the Pews is about how trauma and abuse (especially developmental trauma and abuse) impact spiritual formation. The Body Keeps Score is a classic book on trauma from a secular viewpoint.