Comments on: Whos Afraid of The Teddy Bears Picnic?

By: Valerie Sinason Clinic for Dissociative studies

Valerie Sinason Clinic for Dissociative studies — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:44:38 +0000

One precious way of working on trauma is to write. Writing is often writing for oneself initially and then there is another step in which you can write in a way that allows others to be part of the communication. Reading a book is never a passive experience. Even though the author is not there to answer questions we all make a relationship with the words we read, especially when they are autobiographical and about trauma. Pam Smart has bravely shared her pain in a carefully filtered way. She does not wish to provide more than the reader can bear and she takes great care with the details she provides. Through the work she has done she offers an example that many others might feel encouraged to follow. Breaking the secret by speaking out is a difficult thing to do and often it helps others more than the survivor herself. May the existence of this book remain a landmark for the writer herself as well as the readers!

By: Rev. Elder Glenna Shepherd anon

Rev. Elder Glenna Shepherd anon — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:43:52 +0000

I am writing to commend a book to you that may be a resource for your ministry. Who’s Afraid of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic is written by Pam Smart, a psychotherapist and member of Brightwaves MCC – Brighton. This book is a miracle – if for no other reason than Pam’s survival is miraculous. She writes as therapist and child, from a fully-embodied first-person point of view and as astute analyst of the events of a horrific childhood.

But this book is different than other accounts of childhood neglect and abuse. It’s different because its author speaks of actual recovery! Through facing her past – a past that is made of the worst of the worst things that should simply never happen to children – she reconstructs a life.

Who’s Afraid of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic is one of the most courageously written memoirs I’ve read. Additionally, Pam’s honesty and clarity in reporting events that wreaked such havoc in her young life attests to the wonder of her life today – to the power of therapy, love, and God in the life of this amazing woman.
Rev. Elder Glenna Shepherd

By: Tessa Lee anon

Tessa Lee anon — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:42:54 +0000

I have finally been able to read a book that is not on my course list now that my degree is over and yours was the first I picked up. I just wanted to say that this is such a moving piece and so many people would benefit from reading such a story of courage and strength. To read your story and to see you now and all you have become, amazes me. Your book is written with self-consciousness, humility and honesty. I spent the first part of the book that covered your childhood, just waiting to turn the page and find that someone, somewhere had noticed your sufferings and would then save you, but then perhaps it is more important that with the guidence of loved ones, you had the strength of character to actually save yourself. I feel so sorry for all you went through and so blessed that you would share it with the world, to tell those who endure the same things that there is a future and those lucky enough not to have experienced anything like that, to learn from what you have to say. Thank you for writing this book, Pam. I will be recommending it to everyone.

Tessa Lee