About the Book
“As an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I face
challenging questions. Is it truly possible to move through the shame I carry every day? Can I have a full life without depending on mind-numbing drugs and alcohol? And the most difficult question of all: Do I tell? But how do I tell? Who do I tell? What happens if I do tell?”
—Larry Ruhl, Excerpt from Breaking the Ruhls Preface
An urgent and timely memoir exploring the reality of childhood sexual abuse, a scourge on too many neighborhoods, often hiding in plain sight. Millions of victims remain silent, buried under the weight of their own guilt, shame, and addiction.
Breaking the Ruhls will resonate deeply with many who have experienced complex trauma, boundary violations, and abuse within the family, and struggle with the emotional and psychological effects. Ruhl mines his own experiences with sexual confusion, shame, PTSD, addiction and recovery, marital issues, career struggles, and therapeutic breakthroughs, while offering vindication on a range of issues and demonstrating it is possible to heal and thrive.
• Ninety-three percent of juvenile sexual assault victims knew their perpetrators. For 80 percent of those, that perpetrator was a parent.
• Shines a spotlight on the incessant plague of sexual abuse and to help others shed the shame that sexual abuse survivors unfairly carry.