Crossing the Boundary: Black Women Survive Incest - Softcover

Wilson, Melba

9781878067425: Crossing the Boundary: Black Women Survive Incest

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1878067427 ISBN 13: 9781878067425

Publisher: Seal Press, 1994

This powerful and important book is the culmination of Melba Wilson's long-held desire to write about an experience that affected her and countless other women and children. Looking at the experience of black women incest survivors, she examines the cost of this survival and the strengths that make it possible. Wilson focuses on the dynamics of sex and sexual oppression as they intersect with gender, class and race. She includes the voices of other survivors, a discussion of the role of professionals, and an exploration of incest in the autobiographical and fictional work of Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Buchi Emecheta and other black writers.

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From Library Journal:

Wilson, an American freelance journalist living in London, has written a wrenchingly honest and personal book about the sexual abuse of black women and girls. The title refers not only to the boundary abusers violate to commit inappropriate behavior but also the boundary victims must cross in order to talk about their experiences and begin the healing process. Pressure for silence from the black community, black family values, racism, and myths about black women all hinder healing and protection of the victims. Much of the data Wilson cites are British in origin, but this book is also important for African Americans. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.
- Sharon Firestone, Ross-Blakley Law Lib., Arizona State Univ., Tempe
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Touted as the "first book about black women and incest to be published in the United States," Wilson's treatise was inspired by her own heretofore unresolved incest experience. Noting the lack of literature devoted to this particular subject and the scarcity of support groups among black female survivors, Wilson felt compelled to share both the tragedy and the triumph in her own personal history. Her narrative also explores the mythology about black women's sexuality, repudiates the code of silence common in black society, analyzes the theme of incest in the works of black women authors, and provides an encouraging framework for those struggling to cope with their own feelings of shame, anger, and guilt. A cathartic survival guide for black women. Margaret Flanagan

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