MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

This is the community reading list where you can discover books and other resources that might change you, in a good way. #TraumaSucks. #AdversitiesSucks.

Midnight Library reading list: List

THE CHILD CALLED IT

by Dave Pelzer

"A child called 'it' is the unforgettable account of one of the most
severe child abuse cases in California history. Dave Pelzer was brutally
beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother, who
played torturous games that left him nearly dead ... In the sequel, The
lost boy, Dave is finally 'rescued' by the social-service system, then
shuffled in and out of five foster homes. Tears and laughter, despair
and hope, all create the journey of this little lost boy desperately
looking for the love of a family, a place to call home"--Jacket.

CODEPENDENT NO MORE WORKBOOK

by Melody Beattie

Is someone else's problem your problem? If, like so many others, you've lost sight of your own life in the drama of tending to a loved one’s self-destructive behavior, you may be codependent--and you may find yourself in this book. With instructive life stories, personal reflections, exercises, and self-tests, Codependent No More helps you to break old patterns, maintain healthy boundaries, and say no to unhealthy relationships. It offers a clear and achievable path to freedom and a lifetime of healing, hope, and happiness.

COMPLEX PTSD: FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING

by Pete Walker

Alice Miller, author of "The Drama of the Gifted Child", wrote: "Pete
Walker wrote a book about his own recovery from emotional numbness. The
author passionately explores as thoroughly as possible the role of
emotions in human life. The result is not only a moving, honest recount
but also an informative guide for people who want to become more aware
of their buried feelings. Walker's well explained concept of
'reparenting' will help them go through this fascinating process in a
safe, protected way."

COMPREHENSIVE STRESS MANAGEMENT

by Jerrold S. Greenberg

Greenberg's Comprehensive Stress Management integrates research and theories found useful when dealing with the inevitable occurrence of stress, with an emphasis on the interrelation of stress and illness. The 14th edition provides up-to-date information on stress associated with college student debts and technology use, as well as a new perspective on religion and spirituality as it relates to stress. The Connect course for this offering includes SmartBook, an adaptive reading and study experience which guides students to master, recall, and applies key concepts while providing automatically-graded assessment. This technology empowers students to learn what stress is, evaluate their level of stress, and apply to their own lives the tools and skills necessary to manage stress.

GOT PARTS? AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFULLY MANAGING WITH DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISODER

by ATW

Once thought of as a rare and mysterious psychiatric curiosity, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is now understood to be a fairly common outcome of severe trauma in young children most typically extreme and repeated physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse, and often lack of attachment. Formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder, DID is a condition in which a person has two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of the person's consciousness and behavior. Symptoms can include depression, mood swings, panic or anxiety attacks, substance abuse, memory loss, propensity for trances, sleep and eating disorders, distrust, detachment, lack of self-care, and distress or impairment at work.
Got Parts? was written by a survivor of DID in association with her therapist and therapy group. This book is filled with successful coping techniques and strategies to enhance the day-to-day functioning of adult survivors of DID in relationships, work, parenting, self-confidence, and self-care. Got Parts will help you introduce yourself to your internal family and improve its communication, integration, and well-being. Although written to carefully avoid triggering, it delivers well-grounded guidelines for living that DID people need to do on the way to recovery. Coping strategies included help you with issues related to triggers, flashbacks, and body memories. Got Parts also includes a detailed list of outside resources you can draw on. This book is intended to be used in conjunction with a therapist and is not a substitute for therapy.

REFRAME YOUR THINKING AROUND AUTISM

by Holly Bridges

Outlining a new, optimistic way to understand autism, this concise and accessible book offers practical ideas to help children on the spectrum grow.
The Polyvagal Theory suggests autism is a learnt response by the body - a result of the child being in a prolonged state of 'fight or flight' while their nervous system is still developing. This book explains the theory in simple terms and incorporates recent developments in brain plasticity research (the capacity of the brain to change throughout life) to give parents and professionals the tools to strengthen the child's brain-body connection and lessen the social and emotional impact of autism.

THE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER WORKBOOK

by Daniel J. Fox, PHD

Despite what you may have read or been told, BPD is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Like many mental health issues, it manifests on a spectrum, and while some people may encounter extreme symptoms and consequences on one end, others may be less affected on the other. What do you all have in common? You likely experience difficulty balancing your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. And you may even have trouble seeing yourself clearly—continuously switching from the hero to the villain of the story you’ve written about your life. So, how can you make sense of it all and start on the road to healing?
Rather than utilizing a one-size-fits-all treatment, this groundbreaking and comprehensive workbook meets you where you are on your therapeutic journey, and provides an integrative approach to treating BPD drawing on evidence-based dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and interpersonal therapy. With this compassionate workbook, you’ll gain a greater understanding of your BPD, uncover your own emotional triggers, and discover your own personal motivators for positive change.

THE COMPLEX PTSD WORKBOOK

by Arielle Schwartz, PHD

A mind-body workbook for healing and overcoming Complex PTSD

Those affected by complex PTSD, or C-PTSD, commonly feel as though there is something fundamentally wrong with them―that somewhere inside there is a part of them that needs to be fixed. Facing one’s PTSD is a brave, courageous act―and with the right guidance, recovery is possible.

In The Complex PTSD Workbook, you’ll learn all about C-PTSD and gain valuable insight into the types of symptoms associated with unresolved childhood trauma. Take healing into your own hands while applying strategies to help integrate positive beliefs and behaviors.

Discover your path to recovery with:

Examples and exercises―Uncover your own instances of trauma with PTSD activities designed to teach you positive strategies.
Expert guidance―Explore common PTSD diagnoses and common methods of PTSD therapy including somatic therapy, CBT, and mind-body perspectives.
Prompts and reflections―Apply the strategies you’ve learned and identify PTSD symptoms with insightful writing prompts.

Find the tools you need to work through C-PTSD and regain emotional control with this mind-body workbook.

THE DISEASE TO PLEASE

by Harriet B. Braiker

Begin with a simple but revealing quiz to discover what type of people-pleaser you are. Then learn how making even small changes to any single portion of the Disease to Please Triangle - involving your thoughts, feelings, and behavior - will cause a dramatic, positive and long-lasting change to the overall syndrome.
People pleasers are not just nice people who go overboard trying to make everyone happy. Those who suffer from the Disease to Please are people who say "Yes" when they really want to say "No." For them, the uncontrollable need for the elusive approval of others is an addiction. Their debilitating fears of anger and confrontation force them to use "niceness" and "people-pleasing" as self-defense camouflage.
As a recovered peoplepleaser, you will finally see that a balanced way of living that takes others into consideration but puts the emphasis first on pleasing yourself and gaining your own approval is the clearest path to health and happiness.

THE TAO TE CHING UNABRIDGED

by Lao Tze

The Tao Te Ching is one of the world's oldest and most treasured
pieces of literature. Written around 2,500 years ago by the enigmatic
Lao Tzu, its timeless wisdom and transformative message remain every bit
as relevant today. The text, presented here in its entirety, Through
his subtle and poetic words, Lao Tzu explores the workings of the cosmos
and the essential nature of mankind, offering a way of living that
brings us back into the harmonious flow of the natural.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR DAD?

by Kris Godinez

This is a story of survival and a story of hope. It follows the author from birth to her late 40’s. From small farm town in California to her own private practice in Mesa, AZ. It is an empowering journey of learning how to survive damaging parents and teaching others how to survive damaging parents. Although the subject matter is sometimes hard to read there is a lot of humor, a lot of love and a lot of acceptance and understanding that will bring the reader to a greater understanding of what drives both alcoholism and BPD. The book teaches the reader that just because your childhood was rocky and not much fun it does not mean you cannot have success and fun as an adult.
What’s Wrong With Your Dad is the true story of what it was like growing up and surviving a family with both alcoholism and Borderline Personality Disorder. It is told in the first person in a very conversational way, like the author and the reader are just sitting over coffee talking. It explains in clear layman’s terms the behaviors of both alcoholism and Borderline Personality Disorder and lets the reader know in no uncertain terms that the behavior was not in any way created by any adult child of either an alcoholic or BPD.

WRAP FOR THE EFFECTS OF TRAUMA

by Mary Ellen Copeland, PHD

Trauma occurs when any circumstance or experience overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope. The experience of trauma can have a lasting impact on mental health, physical health, or both, and what many deem “symptoms” are normal reactions to abnormal circumstances we have experienced. Based on the flagship WRAP: Wellness Recovery Action Plan, the adaptation, WRAP for the Effects of Trauma, asks individuals seeking wellness not “What’s wrong with you?” but rather “What happened?” and “What do you need?” WRAP for the Effects of Trauma includes information specific to the experience of being a trauma survivor, examples of signs of distress that may be trauma-related, and lots of ideas for Wellness Tools and action plans that work for people who have experienced trauma.
It can be your personal guide to recovery and wellness, whether you are developing your WRAP in a group, working with a supporter to develop your WRAP, or are developing your WRAP on your own. Like the WRAP Red Book, it contains comprehensive instructions for developing your WRAP and in-depth descriptions of some of the most common Wellness Tools. In addition, it contains lots of information and examples that are specific to addressing trauma-related issues, with information from people like yourself who are working on their wellness and recovery. This book will help you:
Discover your own simple, safe wellness tools Develop a daily plan to help you stay as well as possible Identify upsetting events or circumstances and develop action plans for responding to them Create a strategy to gain support and stay in control of your wellness during and after a crisis

WRAP PLUS

by Mary Ellen Copeland, PHD

In 1994, I wrote the book, Living Without Depression and Manic Depression. It was based on a study I did of the skills and strategies of people who have gotten well and stayed well over time. This was at a time when recovery from mental health issues was not even considered to be possible. The book had a really long run with the publisher, 16 years.

Now recovery is a word that is used in mental health all the time. But I didn’t want this book with all its great information to cease to be. It was too important to too many people. It led many, many people out of the depths of despair into a rich and rewarding life. So I added lots of information on WRAP and called it WRAP Plus.

WRAP Plus is an extensive enhancement of the original book that includes my findings about mental health recovery and WRAP since then. This book includes intensive instructions-not found anywhere else-on how to develop a WRAP that will work for you, and how to LIVE WRAP on a day-to-day basis. Filled with NEW IDEAS for successfully developing, using and updating the popular Wellness Recovery Action Plan for prevention, recovery and wellness, this book includes stories from those who are LIVING WRAP to stay well and are learning to anticipate and address life’s hurdles. This text will be used instead of Living Without Depression and Manic Depression for the Correspondence course. For more information go to www.copelandcenter.com

YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER, BUT YOU CAN’T MAKE ‘EM CHA CHA

by Kris Godinez

This new book by Kris Godinez gives a conglomeration of case studies to illustrate what motivates and drives an abusive relationship. Why some people stay and others don’t.

YOU'RE STILL THAT GIRL

by Susana Quintana

For women who are tired of hurting at the hands of their ex and ready to leave the darkness behind, You’re Still That Girl throws a life preserver to help pull them to shore.
Recovering and healing after an abusive relationship is a difficult journey. One may no longer recognize the woman in the mirror staring back at them. Suzanna Quintana understands the darkness that a victim of abuse dwells in and what it takes to recover. A survivor of abuse at the hands of a diagnosed narcissist, Suzanna Quintana offers a life preserver to those still drowning in the pain of their heartbreak.
In You’re Still That Girl, Suzanna shows women the way to:
Liberate themselves from their painful past and become emotionally detached from their exLearn the difference between real love and abuse disguised as love Find their voice and trust their instincts again so that they won’t make the same mistakes Learn valuable tricks and tips for dealing with a narcissistic ex who is still making their life miserable Get back in touch with the girl they used to be and get back to living a life they always dreamed of

Midnight Library reading list: Text