The first of our books for husbands was written by Barshinger, a therapist, who equips husbands to appropriately respond to their wives, explores how people might overcome the sins of their fathers, and identifies with the plight of the husband in its tone and examples. The book’s content is primarily comprised of insights from clinical practice and the research of 17 documented resources.

This team of authors provides guidance to husbands for the need of individuation while simultaneously guarding against individualism. From the spiritual perspective, readers are warned of the inadvertent ease by which healing can be idolized in a therapeutic age. “Being happy is not the goal of therapy or of life. Being healed and restored in our relationships with God, others and ourselves is . . . We are healed to live. We do not live to be healed” (p. 44).

I highly recommend Haunted Marriage.

As the husband of a CSA survivor, Cameron offers insights into the identified symptoms of a survivor. Cameron addresses symptoms that can be backed by scholarly research. However, this work offers no documentation of scholarly sources and recorded only the dynamics within Cameron’s personal marriage. Cameron’s work contains a chapter guiding husbands through the decision of whether or not to remain married. This conversation stands in contrast to the work of Barshinger et al. (1995) which challenges husbands to commit to the healing process.

This book appears on almost every list addressing sexual abuse. Written in a question-answer format, it serves as an easy reference guide. Many of the answers provided emphasize what husbands should do for their wives. I found this book to be very informative but did not feel that it was always supportive. Davis is not consistent in identifying with a husband’s needs as they work through secondary trauma.

DeMuth writes in this book about her personal abuse and journey toward healing. Included in the book is a chapter on the effects of CSA on marriage. She addresses fears and the sexual struggle she has personally experienced in her marriage.

DeMuth offers the following life principles in her writing: stop comparing the worst in you with the best in others, and how God made you is how He heals you. Another benefit of this book is that DeMuth’s husband, Patrick writes a response at the end of each chapter. This aids in providing insight into the effects of CSA from both a husband’s and wife’s perspective.

In this book, Gil offers prescriptive instruction to spouses of those who suffered from CSA. He does this with an emphasis on the fact that the husband should assume an assertive role in the relationship. Gil also addresses topics such as anger, touching, power and control, and sexuality. His prescriptive approach includes various techniques that can be employed while communicating: making lists, creating signals to indicate stress, and so forth. In contrast to many authors who write on this topic, Gil’s work assumes a higher ease of communication.

Hansen, like Barshinger, addresses husbands by educating them on the impact of CSA. He also gives attention to the trauma faced by husbands and their personal need for self-care. Hansen writes from the perspective of a therapist, the husband of a survivor, and a survivor himself. Through self-disclosure and reaching into the heart and mind of husbands, Hansen presents the difficulty he had in understanding why his wife’s awareness and understanding of abuse was not enough to restore their marital stability.

Rather than telling husbands what to do, Hansen breaks down the psychological responses to trauma experienced by both husband and wife. The process of healing, which brought awareness to Hansen of his own CSA, supports the notion that “Psychologically, men and women with certain types of dysfunctions that complement each other consistently find one another and fall in love” (Barshinger et al., 1995, pp. 49-50; Oz, 2001). Bass and Davis (1992) echo this theme in their publications stating, “People unconsciously pick a mate where your meeting point is where you both need to grow” (p. 387).

The book is true to its title. It focuses on the abuse survivor without addressing the needs of the survivor’s husband. The content offers an understanding of the initial and long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse, presents the ultimate betrayal of incest, and offers advice for guiding the survivor through their sense of powerlessness and overcoming guilt and shame. The chapter on discovering self-identity addresses the identity of the survivor but fails to encourage self-awareness in the husband.