Funny, not really but, I have a gorgeous body, beautiful face, I stare at myself in the mirror and I dont see it. Somebody told me it takes alot of soul searching to find out that your not a piece of shit.

Anyway reading Victims No Longer by Mike Lew, was like razorblades cutting through me. Rough, I got to the 3rd page.

Yeah thats a hard book to read, isnt it? And I would agree with your friend it does take a lot of soul searching to figure that out.

James

I just saw myself in the mirror the first time the other day, I'd heard alot of survivors say that they can't look at themselves in the mirror and I'd think well I don't have that problem. But just the other day I realized I could look myself in the eye but I was always doing it from a third person type of view. I was looking at some guy, not me. Well I saw myself in those eyes the other day, it was hard and scary, but it was an eye opener (pun intended) It was hard to transfer my pain into those eyes.

When I started reading "Victims" I put it on my shelf after the first few pages and when I'd walk by the shelf I'd actually take a step away from it. Scary indeed.

Stay strong
Mike

Sport,

I got to the chapter about self esteem.

When I was reading that book, it would trigger me quite heavily. But it did so in a way that I didn't realize right off the bat. I'd tend to sit, thinking to myself several hours later when the stuff I'd read started to hit me. That made me not realize why it was that I would get so depressed.

But then I got to the chapter on self esteem, and it ripped me apart.

Bryan

Alex,

Mike Lew's book is a rough read for all of us, I think. But I think what he says about self-esteem is some of the most important material in a book that's crucial every single page.

Perhaps it will help you if you look at Victims No Longer as a road map for your future rather than as a guide to what you have lost in the past. I keep thinking of what Mike Church (a former mod) used to tell us: "The present and future are where we have to live the rest of our lives."

Much love,
Larry