From Adena: This book will help you to know that there is hope and a solution to the after effects of childhood sexual abuse. What makes this guide book so unique is that it is the first to utilize the deep wisdom and healing of the 12 Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous for the purpose of recovery from childhood sexual abuse. The 12 Step Program has been a powerful vehicle for millions of people who have used it to anchor them in their recovery. Because these Steps offer such a firm foundation, they are extremely effective for those of us healing from the effects of childhood sexual abuse. I have seen this powerful healing in my own life as well as in my clinical practice. For the purposes of this guide, child sexual abuse is violation of a child to meet the physical or emotional sexual needs of someone they perceive to have more power than they. Often this abuse was from a person the child trusted; one who was supposed to take care of and protect them, not violate them. Practicing the steps has freed me from the reign of the trauma and the offender in a way that I never thought possible. It was necessary for me to follow the suggestions of a sponsor (a childhood sexual abuse survivor who has walked before me) and a mental health professional. Professionally utilizing this philosophy, I have witnessed and been a part of tremendous healing and freedom for my clients they never deemed possible either. Perhaps, you are, like I was, suspicious of the 12-Steps. Is it a religious program/cult or one that forces you to talk about and believe in a "God"? If you are an atheist, agnostic, or have very strong feelings that a belief in a God or a Higher Power is not what you need to be in recovery; I invite you to read on and examine my version of the 12 steps. See if it fits for you. This book is meant to be suggestive only. There are no have-to's so, breathe, take one page and step at a time, and continue to ask yourself, "How free do I really want to be?"