Synopsis

This compassionate, comprehensive workbook is a guide that offers hope for those seeking to reconnect—or connect for the first time—with their sexual selves.Addiction, trauma, and shame can deeply impact your ability to experience intimacy and sexual joy. But healing is possible—and you are not alone. This workbook will guide you through the complex intersections of trauma, addiction, and sexual recovery with sensitivity and care. Used alone or as a companion to Awaken Your Sexuality: A Guide to Intimacy and Connection after Addiction and Trauma, it offers practical tools and exercises to help you unlock the path to pleasure, intimacy, and connection. Inside, you’ll discover activities to help you: Process Your Sexual History Reflect on past experiences and begin healing from old wounds. Explore Pleasure Without Judgment Learn how to embrace your body and desires with curiosity and self-compassion. Build Healthier Relationships Develop skills for creating deeper, more fulfilling intimate connections. Research shows that 1 in 6 women experience sexual violence, with many turning to substances or compulsive behaviors as a way to cope. Here, you can read real-life stories of recovery from those who have walked the path of sexual healing and reclaim your sexual agency, joy, and power. Sexuality is an integral part of what it means to be whole and well. You deserve pleasure. You deserve healing. You deserve connection. A must-read for survivors, therapists, counselors, and anyone committed to sexual recovery and empowerment.

About The Author

Stephanie S. Covington, PhD, LCSW (she/her) is an internationally recognized clinician, organizational consultant, lecturer, and author in the fields of addiction and trauma. Dr. Covington serves as the co-director of the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender & Justice. For nearly four decades, she has created gender-responsive and trauma-informed programs and services for use in public, private, and institutional settings. Author of the first manualized treatment program for substance use disorder, Dr. Covington went on to create twelve trauma-informed, gender-responsive treatment curricula. Her most recent works include the 30th anniversary edition of bestseller A Woman’s Way Through the Twelve Steps and Hidden Healers: The Unexpected Ways Women in Prison Help Each Other Survive.  www.stephaniecovington.com  www.centerforgenderandjustice.org Vanessa Carlisle, PhD, MFA (they/them), is an author, coach, and educator in the fields of gender, sexuality, and trauma. Dr. Carlisle’s lived experience includes over twenty-five years in sex work and fifteen years of advocacy for the sex-working community. As a survivor of both intimate partner and institutional violence, Dr. Carlisle now crafts programs that combat stigma and improve conditions for their communities, including trauma-informed self-defense training, somatic coaching, and end-of-life care services. Along with many essays and articles, Dr. Carlisle authored the award-winning novel Take Me with You about a queer sex worker who must face her grief to be able to build the life she wants.  www.vanessacarlisle.com 

This is a standard paperback/soft cover version.