MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from Staying Safe While Sheltering in Place (Schnuelle, Adams, & Henderson) Introduction (by Hendereson) My eyes blinked open suddenly and I was immediately filled with dread, even terror! Now wide awake and worried, I envisioned a stay-at-home order being issued when I was a child. How would I have survived? I was immediately filled with fear as I imagined what it might have been like to be unable to escape the abuses of my father. Of course, my next thought was for all the children, women, girlfriends, or anyone else who might now be stuck at home with a person who is dangerous, someone who instills fear in their victims day and night. What is happening to these children? What is happening to whole families who are in lock-down with someone who can, has, and probably will hurt them, possibly fatally? I started talking to people, starting with my sisters. The thought of it was so awful they couldn’t really discuss it, but one of them, who has worked for years in Soc

Insecure Attachment  A child is born completely helpless, dependent on his parents for survival. He cannot feed, clothe, or shelter himself. His parents care for his every need, not only his biological needs but especially his emotional ones. Without love and affection, a child cannot thrive and grow to emotional maturity. Because of his utter helplessness and dependence on his caregivers, a child is hard-wired, like other animals, to form an attachment bond with his parents. That bond keeps the child emotionally engaged with the parents and elicits their nurturing. Parenting is a fine art, more an art than a science, requiring maturity, wisdom, and generosity. It requires maintaining a fine balance between many opposing behaviors. It is like keeping a violin string at just the right tension to produce beautiful music, neither too loose nor too tight. In the midst of change, parents need to guide their children by being neither too strict nor too lax. Children require calm dire

  As Women's History Month concludes, here are some books that may be of interest; they reflect hope in the aftermath of various kinds of violence against women. They also point out ways that women can manage violence when it appears -- survive it and recover from it. Healing from Incest ( Geri Henderson ) In speaking about Healing from Incest, Susan J. Lewis, Ph.D., J.D., Healing writes: “"Brave, profound, touching, healing. This well-written, honest book takes the reader inside the complexities of the therapeutic healing process from the patient and therapist's unique perspective. It is the story of hard work, hope, commitment and recovery!" Healing from Incest tells the journey of a victim-turned-survivor, working with her therapist to find healing. Readers are pulled into the therapeutic process as Henderson relates her conversations and feelings as a victim of child abuse and Emerton interprets those feelings and describes interventions. For those who recognize t

  Today's back story is about the book, It Only Hurts When I Can't Run  by Gewanda Parker. From the publisher: When Gewanda approached us with her pre-publication manuscript, it was clear that here was a person who had experienced tremendous trauma as a child. That is a story, of course. A sad story. However, what was also clear was her resilience in overcoming that trauma very, very successfully. That was a story worth publishing. An uplifting story. A story that can help others. More important for us as publisher, it fit into a line of such books, the leaders of which were Elizabeth Mahlou's Blest Atheist and Geri Henderson's and Seanne Emerton's Healing from Incest -- and ultimate prompted the commissioned book by Joanna Romer, Recovering from Domestic Abuse, Stalking, and Abuse . When it was released, Gewanda's book quickly flew to the top of Amazon's hot new releases lists: #4 Hot New Releases in the child abuse category #8 Hot New Releases in the fam

excerpt from Road Map to Power -  Chapter 5: Self-Focus and the Challenges of the Discontent Rule of the Road: Looking for security? It’s in the attachment. Mile Markers: Attachment, Self-Esteem, Self-Focus, Bullying, Celebrity Worship, Real vs. Ideal Self, Social Comparison, Keeping Up with the Joneses, Eating Disorders, Rosebud Four former high school chums, George, James, Phil, and Tom, meet for a highly anticipated reunion with their coach to celebrate past victories and relive previous triumphs. Sounds like a scene from any of a myriad of communities across the landscape of the United States. It is also the premise for Jason Miller’s play, That Championship Season, winner of Pulitzer and Tony awards. Originally debuting in 1972, the play was a rebuke of time-honored traditions and a challenge to many of the collective values held by society at large. Set in the coal mining town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, four star athletes return to the house of their former coach to share the la