Stoicism and the Art of Happiness , Donald Robertson excellent selfhelp bookA Guide to the Good Life The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy , William Irvine similar to the first , but more philosophy oriented <| sep |> Unfortunately even those whose job is assisting victims of abuse often ignore that it can be from female abusers . When I was a child I experienced sexual abuse and eventually rape at the hands of an older woman . As an adult I tried to find help for the effects of that past , but with disappointing frequency the abuse help organizations didn ' t even discuss the possibility of a female abuser . In many cases they would only describe abuse in terms that would require the abuser to be male . Even in the past week , there was a news article on some changes to the sentencing of crimes when an adult engages in inappropriate activity with someone who is underage . They gathered reactions to these changes , and one person who works in the trauma counseling field had described these kinds of crimes as . how men use their power to attack women and children . Years ago I stopped bothering trying to seek out help for it because I grew tired of encountering that blindness .