3 out of 4 stars
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HIS SPECIAL LITTLE GIRL Incest in a Christian Home by Jody Lynn Rutherford is the story of a victim who became a victor. Ms. Rutherford started her life in a home where abuse soon abounded. She and her five siblings, four brothers and one sister, all were victims of one form of abuse or another by their alcoholic father. The boys were often beaten with a belt; the girls were subjected to sexual abuse. The author remembers the inappropriate touching started when she was about three or four years old. When her sister Tammy, about seven years younger than Jody, was in high school, she requested a lock for her bedroom door.
Their mother, who seemed unaware of the girls' abuse and afraid to intervene on the boys' behalf, was also a victim of fear and eventually mental illness. The family grew up in poverty and often had to go without basic needs because of the father's alcohol problem. But the author of this book tells how she became a victor through the grace and strength of God.
It was a hard read at times when she was describing the abuse itself. She did not hold anything back in the telling of her story. I did not like reading the specific details of the abuses. But she handled them as well as possible considering the topic. Her honesty about the brutality of the abuse shows the pain of an innocent child and how her faith in God eventually brought her through to an ultimate victory of forgiveness and love.
While on the path to forgiveness, the author's life was far from perfect. Her first marriage ended in a painful divorce. There were times when, as an adult, she made poor choices for herself. Some (perhaps even most) of those poor choices were a direct or an indirect result of the abuse in her childhood. With God's help, she is now doing her best to trust God, to walk in His path for her. Sharing her story in writing this book is not just another step in her own healing, but it also can be of help to someone else who is or has been going through similar circumstances.
I noticed there were several editing issues in the book, although not enough to make me want to stop reading. There was an occasional omission of a word. There were also some errors that appeared to be typographical. Since they were very obvious to me as I was reading along, I feel that they could and should have been caught with careful proofreading.
In the chapters that included letters and testimonials by her family members, she did say that their writings were unedited. I feel that even this section should have been edited. Two quotes in particular (on page 110) are "And thou the tears came like rivers some times..." and "On, what a Mom." These should have been corrected to "though" and "Oh" to make a smooth read. It does not matter whether these errors were in the original writing by her brother or in the copying of the text into the book itself. As a reader, in most situations I would prefer to read a corrected version unless the errors are necessary because of the context of the original writer's words. In this book, that was not the case. These two examples were obviously typographical and were not caught by a word processing spell checker since they are words in their own right. So careful human proofreading is absolutely necessary. Although the author may have read it over after writing, it is so easy for a writer to overlook typos and just read what he or she thinks is on the page. That seems to be the case here.
Reading this book would be helpful for parents and for anyone working with children. It would also be helpful for any adult who has been or is in an abusive situation. At the end of the book, the author has included a list of signs to look for in individuals who may be suffering from sexual abuse. There is also a list of book titles and websites that would be helpful for anyone going through sexual abuse and for those in positions to help abuse victims.
I would not recommend this book to be read by children. I would look for something age appropriate under the guidance of an adult who is able to discuss the subject with the child. And if the child is a victim, then age appropriate information with a qualified counselor would be needful.
Although the topics, incest and beatings, made it a hard read for me, it was also a good read because it shows the author's path to healing. It shows that healing is possible in spite of the hurts and bruises, both physical and emotional. Healing is not easy and it may take a long time. But with God's love and forgiveness, she allowed Him to help her show that love and forgiveness to her father.
The author's story shows that her path to healing was not perfect. But it also shows that when she found herself in a difficult or destructive situation, whether for weeks or months or years, she did not totally give up. As an adult, whenever she realized she had strayed from her faith in God, she ultimately let Him draw her back to Himself. This, too, was not easy and it was not quick, but allowing God to work in her helped her on her healing and forgiveness journey. At the time of writing the book, she is serving God by ministering to others however and whenever she can.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The grammar and punctuation were good. The recommended books and websites at the end of the book almost make it a 4 star rating in spite of the editing issues. But I believe that editing and proofreading are extremely important in every area of publication -- books, pamphlets, written public announcements, notices sent home from school (yes, I've seen editing issues in them!) Because anything for the public should be carefully proofread, I have to hold my rating down to 3 stars. I felt that Ms. Rutherford's writing style was as if she were sitting in a room, talking and sharing her heart with me. Therefore, I would rate this book 3.5 out of 4 stars if I could.
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His Special Little Girl - Incest in a Christian Home
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Great review!
