WEDNESDAY'S CHILDREN: Adult Survivors of Abuse Speak Out

by Suzanne Somers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1992

Somers continues the campaign against child abuse that she began with her forceful autobiography, Keeping Secrets (1987). Here, the popular comedienne-with-a-cause has persuaded 22 fellow victims to donate ""qualifications"" about their abuse-experience; of the 22, most are celebrities (""I believe...Americans feel more comfortable addressing personal problems of their own once celebrities they admire go public,"" argues Somers--who's bestowed her own high-profile name on the Palm Springs-based Suzanne Somers Institute, for families victimized by addiction). Somers divides the contributions according to type of abuse: ""emotional"" (Angle Dickinson, Cindy Williams, Patti Davis, et al.); ""physical"" (Randy Shilts, Gary Crosby, et al.); ""sexual"" (B.J. Thomas, Traci Lords, et al.). Much of this material shocks (""from the time I was ten years old until I was thirteen I was sexually abused by my mother's third husband, Lex Barker,"" writes Cheryl Crane. ""After the first assault, Lex said to me, 'You know what happens to little girls who tell? They get sent away to juvenile hall and never see their parents again'""). Some of it intrigues as character-study (Traci Lords links her teenage career as a porn star to an alcoholic dad; Richard Berendzen, the American Univ. president canned for making indecent phone calls, links those calls to his having been sexually abused by a woman at age 11). And nearly all of it proves affecting, as these men and women explain their growth from mea culpa to J'accuse and, finally, into personal responsibility. A curious but irresistible mix of soulful sincerity and glitter-sleaze that could sell through the roof.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992

Categories: NONFICTION