Sylvia Peterson was offered that chance and courageously took it. She met twice a month with Laura Faye McCollum, the only woman held in Washington State as a violent, serial, sexual predator. Laura’s crimes were horrific. She was an accomplished liar and a skilled manipulator, but Sylvia was determined. Laura and Me isn’t just a journey into the darkness of childhood sexual abuse. It’s also a voyage into forgiveness, healing, and joy.

This book is a tough read emotionally. It is hard to read about what someone has done to a child. Selfish, hurtful acts. This is especially hard to read as a sexual abuse survivor but I think even if you have never been abused this will stir your heart.

There were times I was disgusted and angry and other times I felt great pity for Laura and wanted to see her redeemed.

Sylvia has taken a look at a very tough issue, something she has dealt with personally as well. I loved her raw honesty with her own feelings as she walked this journey. How she even slipped back into old feelings as things came to the surface.

If you wonder if healing is possible after abuse, or you want to gain a better understanding of the mind of an abuser this is a book you must read. It will leave you haunted and aching but with hope as well.

An e-copy of this book was given to me by the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a chronicle of a child sex abuse victim, Sylvia, the author, who meets with an offender perpetrator (not the victim's), Laura, over a two year period. Interviews, autobiographies, and letters form the narrative.

Sylvia begins by accepting a request from the prison chaplain to meet Laura. She does so out of duty and a desire to find an answer to "why do people become pedophiles?" She does not expect it to be a very long-term assignment, but quickly realizes that answers are not easily forthcoming and God might have more in store than simply answers.

Throughout the journey Sylvia shows how fear has led to dehumanization of sex-crime convicts, and this in turn results in "treatments" that may lead to worse conditions than when they entered, and general inhumane treatment of not just the offenders but their families as well. She shows how the medical, psychological, and justice systems are inadequate to treat offenders.

Through her encounter, Sylvia learns what it means to choose love, to have compassion, and to extend grace, mercy, and forgiveness following the pattern of Jesus Christ. She learns what it means to go beyond merely speaking about God's love to living it. She experiences the wholeness that is integral to salvation.

This book is very definitely written from a Christian viewpoint. It is also very much a personal story. It would not stand up to academic rigor. Yet I believe it contains many important perspectives for pastoral and mental health counselors who are working with parishioners and clients who are victims and/or offenders.

I believe this book can be of value to victims of sexual abuse, though it contains graphic and intimate word images of assault and abuse. For those ready to work through it, it may offer a path forward toward healing.