STRONG AT THE HEART

Lehman offers nine interviews with adults and teenagers who were sexually abused as children. Presented as first-person narratives (as if there were no interviewer), each story begins with a close-up black-and-white photo of the interviewee looking directly at the reader. The stories differ greatly, both in the type of abuse and in the type of support each person received. Some stayed quiet for years; others were able to speak out right away. The wide differences between them only serve to drive home to the reader the extraordinary similarity in all of them: a lasting courage and strength born from a sense of vulnerability. Lehman’s excellently balanced package includes black and white photos throughout, and annotated resources at the end (books, films, Web sites and organizations). The clean design will lead readers directly to the narratives. Over and over, the interviewees each say how much it helped to hear that someone else shared their experience—that they were not alone. One hopes that this book will be that voice for readers. (Nonfiction. 10+)