The Courage to Heal
The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (first published in 1988, with three subsequent editions, the last being a 20th anniversary edition in 2008) is a self-help book by poet Ellen Bass and Laura Davis that focuses on recovery from child sexual abuse and has been called "controversial and polarizing". The intent of the book is to provide a healing experience by means of explanations, practical suggestions, descriptions and first hand accounts from women who have experienced sexual abuse. The authors say that individuals (mainly women) with a general set of symptoms may have been abused, but the memories of which have been repressed. They propose a variety of techniques to overcome their symptoms, including confronting their alleged abusers, adopting an identity as a "survivor", overcoming the associated trauma and in cases where there is no memory of any abuse, recovering the memories. The book was a bestseller in North America and Europe. The 20th Anniversary Edition came out in 2008 and included an updated resource guide, additional stories and research. The book has been criticized for being used primarily by incompetent therapists, for creating in children false memories of abuse, as well as