The Healing Spirit: A Study of Seven Journeys to Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse

This book traces the journeys of seven victims of childhood sexual abuse who have experienced recovery through the activity of the Holy Spirit within the context of the local church. These recovered victims have been enabled to move beyond the devastation of abuse by others whom they trusted to a place of emotional and psychological stability, appropriate sexual intimacy with their spouses, and a growing level of spiritual maturity. While the Christian community has been slow to grasp the severity and extent of the problem or to provide the healing resources of the gospel, some victims have found recovery in local churches. The author has undertaken in-depth interviews to elicit and explore the narratives of their journeys from woundedness to well-being. These narratives are an important source of information on the activity of the Holy Spirit in healing. While the Spirit is an entity hidden to us, the author has explored the experiences of seven recovered victims to disclose meaning for the work of the Spirit in all areas of Christian ministry.

Leo Stossich is a qualified teacher, an ordained minister, and has planted several churches. He gained his doctorate of ministry at Tabor College of Higher Education in Adelaide, Australia. His dissertation was "The Healing Spirit: An Investigation of Spiritual Healing for Christian Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse." Stossich has lectured at the Tasmanian College of Ministries and Tabor College in Hobart. He is married with four adult children and four grandchildren.


Stuart C. Devenish is a teacher, practitioner, researcher, and consultant in the field of Christian spirituality. He holds a PhD in the meaning of religious experience, and is author of Knowing Otherwise and editor of Beyond Well-Being.