... an intellectually stimulating discussion of important theories and an enthrallingly personal reading experience." -Elizabeth L. Navarre

... the one book we've been waiting for.... The book succeeds admirably in exploring six women's stories with a great deal of respect." -Changes: An International Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy

... poignant revelations... Johnson is able to paint an individualized portrait of each woman and avoids twisting their stories to fit some theory." -Publishers Weekly

... a gritty glimpse of a painful struggle, and a framework for rethinking our perspectives and prejudices." -The Women's Review of Books

Janis Tyler Johnson has collected the stories of six mothers who relate, in their own words, their experiences as mothers of incest victims. Their accounts challenge the collusive, mother-blaming theory of incest families. Mothers tell how they discovered the incest secret, the ways they responded, and the meanings that incest held for themselves, their daughters, husbands, and families.