Abuse Hides in the Dark. Turn on Your Light.

Verbal Abuse Books That Teach the Vocabulary of Abuse

A collage of verbal abuse books

Verbal abuse books helped me discover that my marriage problems were rooted in verbal and emotional abuse. I felt relief because up until I read the library of verbal abuse books available, I thought that I was losing my mind. My abusive husband had almost convinced me that every problem in our marriage was my fault. He said I was inept and out of touch with reality.

The verbal abuse books taught me that my husband was wrong. But more importantly, the verbal abuse books taught me the vocabulary of abuse so I could finally describe what was happening to me.

I’m So Grateful to These Verbal Abuse Books

I was luckier than many abused spouses during the last two years of our marriage. My husband was a soldier in the middle of back-to-back deployments. We were on the same continent for less than seven months, so I had plenty of time to read and learn without him interrupting my education.

I took a couple of months to wallow in my victimhood. Acknowledging that I’d been a victim was very important to my recovery. I needed to feel disappointed, betrayed, and hurt; I needed to put total responsibility for my misery on his shoulders long enough to get a grip on my new reality. During that time, I took out the trash, mentally and emotionally, by blaming him for everything. As a result, I felt some relief from the oppression of abuse.

Soon after, I began exploring my responsibilities for the abuse. Don’t get me wrong. His choice to abuse me was never my fault. My responsibility for the abuse was in my reactions to it. My load was lighter, and my vision clearer. Or at least I thought it was. I decided I would stay and try to make the marriage work. I reasoned that because we both had some changing to do, it was only fair to see if he would go along with me. My plan hinged on our willingness to change – not just his. I should have predicted it wouldn’t work. When had he ever gone along with one of my plans anyway?

The verbal abuse books below helped me during my recovery from abuse, both during my marriage and after. I think reading them will help you become emotionally stronger, better educated about how abuse works, and clear-minded. These books will help you build self-confidence so you can walk away if you decide to do that.

Verbal Abuse Books That Changed My Brain