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The list below provides suggested reading materials on a variety of victim-related topics, as recommended by NOVA staff and board members, as well as others who contact us to report on a new book or document of interest in the field. Generally, these are materials that are new enough not to be included in the bibliography or citations of a NOVA textbook (such as the basic victim assistance textbook Frontiers and Fundamentals or the National Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual) or they are known “classics” in the field.

Many of these materials are free resources, and we have tried to include at least a phone number to help with ordering. For books that cost, please check the “Shop NOVA” button on this Web site and order through Amazon.com. Your purchase in this way will benefit NOVA’s work directly.

Note: The inclusion of these resources on this list is not an endorsement of the materials. The list is provided so that people who are interested in “doing their own research” will have some tools to use. Hopefully, all of our suggestions will be thought-provoking reading for anyone interested in the topics.

Books: Cross-Cultural

“The Inter-Generational Transfer of Trauma” (Yael Danieli, Ph.D.)

“Cross-Cultural Caring, A Handbook for Health Professionals in Western Canada” (Nancy Waxler-Morrison, 1990)

Books: Death, Dying, Death Notification

“Breaking the Bad News With Concern for the Professional and Compassion for the Survivor,” a series of four manuals for clergy/funeral directors, law enforcement, medical personnel and victim advocates – created by MADD and available free from the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center, 800-627-6872

Death Notification information from COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors, Camdenton, MO; 800-784-2677)

“How Do We Tell the Children?: A Step by Step Guide for Helping Children Two to Teen Cope When Someone Dies” (Dan Schaefer, 1993)

“How We Die” (Sherwin Nuland); also author of “Wisdom of the Body”

“Grave Words: Notifying Survivors After Sudden Unexpected Death” (Kenneth Iserson, 1999); also author of “From Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies”

Books: Grief/Bereavement

A Grief Like No Other: After her son was brutally murdered on Memorial Day, 1999, therapist Kathleen O'Hara wrote "A Grief Like No Other-Surviving the Violent Death of Someone You Love". O'Hara offers concrete, practical, and compassionate steps for those who are grieving allowing family and friends safe passage through this harrowing journey of surviving the unthinkable. Available for purchase here.

The Grieving Student in the Classroom, Guidelines and suggestions for classroom teachers and school personnel of grades K-12,” Bobbe Ragouzeos, Hospice of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Books/workbooks by Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D

“Grief at School: A Guide for Teachers and Counselors,” American Hospice Foundation, 1130 Connecticut Avenue, N.W, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036-4101, www.americanhospice.org

“Working With Grieving Children After Violent Death: Guidebook, Instructor’s Guide and Video,” developed by NOVA and free from the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center, 800-627-6872

“Motherless Daughter: The Legacy of Loss” (Hope Edelman, 1995) (Also see related books by Hope Edelman and also by Diane Hambrook, Maxine Harris)

“Disenfranchised Grief: Recognizing Hidden Sorrow” (Kenneth Doka, 1989)

“Who Lives Happily Ever After? For Families Whose Child Has Died Violently” (Sharon Turnbull, 1990)

“No Time for Goodbyes” and “Beyond Sympathy,” both by Janice Harris Lord, on coping with traumatic death

“The Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide” (Kay Redfield Jamison, 1999)

“35 Ways to Help a Grieving Child,” “What About the Kids? Understanding Their Needs in Funeral Planning & Services,” “Helping Children Cope With Death,” “When Death Impacts Your School, A Guide for School Administrators,” “Helping the Grieving Student: A Guide for Teachers,” “Helping Teens Cope With Death” (The Dougy Center, $9.95 each, toll-free 866-775-5683, Portland, OR)

“What to Do After the Police Leave: A Guide to the First Days of Traumatic Loss” (Bill Jenkins, 1999)

“The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and Their Friends,” (Fireside, Helen Fitzgerald)

“Parenting Through Crisis: Helping Kids in Times of Loss, Grief and Change” (Harper Collins, Barbara Coloroso)

“When Grief Visits School (Organizing a Successful Response) A Resource for Administrators, Counselors and Other Staff,” (Educational Media Corporation, John Dudley) (describes CISD model, not NOVA model)

“Guiding Your Child Through Grief,” Mary Ann Emswiler, MA, MPS and James P. Emswiler, MA

“Comprehending Suicide: Landmarks in 20th Century Suicidology,” Edwin S. Shneidman, March 2001

“I Never Knew Your Name,” (Sherry Garland, 1994; suicide; young people)

“Gili’s Book, A Guide for Parents & Counselors Dealing with Parental Bereavement, Henga Kagan-Klein, Ph.D.

Miscellaneous: Related to Trauma and Victimization

“Crisis Intervention: The Professional’s Perspective, A questionnaire survey,” The Psychiatric Bulletin, March 1, 2001; Volume 25, No. 3, F. Lazaro, E. Kulinskaya and R. Tobiansky

Gift From Within, Read Understanding the Victims of Spousal Abuse by Dr. Frank Ochberg. Also get the tape ""When Helping Hurts: Sustaining Trauma Workers" Produced for trauma workers, international relief workers and those exposed to trauma due to their professions or work as volunteers, this video outlines the symptoms of Secondary Traumatization and Compassion Fatigue. What can organizations and supervisors do to prevent or reduce the effects of Compassion Fatigue in trauma workers? Six noted therapists discuss ways of recognizing these conditions in yourself and others, and the means of treatment and prevention.

Pima County, Arizona, Victim Assistance Program On-Scene Crisis Intervention Training Manual

“The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence” (Gavin de Becker, 1997) – he also wrote “Protecting the Gift,” about protecting children from violence

Books/Materials: School Related Crisis

Illinois State School Crisis Assistance Team Project; for information, contact Carol Wozniewski, Director, School Crisis Assistance Team Project, Mental Health Association in Illinois, 188 West Randolph Street, Suite 2225 Chicago, IL 60601, 312-368-9070 x 24, 312-368-0283 fax, , state-wide effort to establish 45 regional school crisis teams throughout the state based on the NOVA model – multi-level state agency support; developing school crisis assistance team protocol manual

"“The Monitoring the Future Study,” data from surveys of 8th, 10th and 12th graders from 1991 to the present.

“Healing Hearts/Mending Minds, A Curriculum for Young Crime Victims,” a curriculum designed to introduce high school students to the world of peer victim assistance and advocacy, available for $50 for copying and shipping, from the National Organization for Victim Assistance, 510 King Street, Suite 424, Alexandria, VA 22314.

“Coping With Crisis: Lessons Learned, A Resource for Schools, Parents, and Communities,” Scott Poland and Jami S. McCormick, available from "www.sopriswest.com. There’s now also a “short” version of this text.

“Take Back Your School! Challenge Your Students to Become the First Line of Defense in Their School’s Safety,” a one-hour interactive presentation in three 20-minute video sessions with a comprehensive teacher’s guide to ending the “conspiracy of silence,” available from www.sopriswest.com.

Tools for Teachers: Responding to Hate-Motivated Behaviors in Schools, available electronically at www.adl.org/tools_teachers/responding1.html.

“Preparing for Crises in the Schools, A Manual for Building School Crisis Response Teams,” Stephen E. Brock, Jonathan Sandoval, Sharon Lewis, ISBN 0-88422-156-3, 1966, Clinical Psychological Publishing Co., Inc.

“Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action,” call 888-252-7751 or see www.cdc.gov/safeusa.

“Predictors of Youth Violence,” Juvenile Justice Bulletin, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, April 2000, NCJ # 179065, free, contact 800-638-8736 “Safe in Our Schools,” by Richard W. Riley, The Washington Post, August 15, 1999

“School and Community Interventions to Prevent Serious and Violent Offending,” Richard F. Catalano, Ph.D., Rolf Loeber, Ph.D., and Kay C. McKinney, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, October 1999, NCJ # 177624, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

“Early Warning/Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools,” available electronically at www.ed.gov/offices/OSERs/OSEP/earlywrn.html.

“Managing the Media: A Practical Guide for Principals & Administrators for Improving Media and Public Relations,” and “Administrator’s Checklist for Responding to a Crisis in Our Schools,” available from Prince George’s County Public Schools, 14201 School Lane, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

“School Crime & Violence, Victims’ Rights,” James A. Rapp, Frank Carrington, George Nicholson, National School Safety Center, 1986

“Families and Schools Together: Building Relationships,” Lynn McDonald, ACSW, Ph.D., and Heather E. Frey, November 1999, NCJ # 173423, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

“Report to Congress on Juvenile Violence Research,” July 1999, NCJ # 176976, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

“High School Youths, Weapons, and Violence: A National Survey, Joseph F. Sheley and James D. Wright. October 1998, NCJ # 172857, Research in Brief, U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice

“Violence Among Middle School and High School Students: Analysis and Implications for Prevention, Daniel Lockwood, Ph.D., October 1997, NCJ # 166363, Research in Brief, U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice

“School-Associated Violent Deaths, July 1992 – Present,” March 1996, National School Safety Center, Westlake Village, CA 91362

“Adolescents’ Exposure to Violence and Associated Symptoms of Psychological Trauma, Mark I Singer, Ph.D., Trina Menden Anglin, M.D., Ph.D., Li yu Song, Ph.D., Lisa Lunghofer, Journal of the American Medical Association, February 8, 1995, Vol. 273, No. 6

“Don’t Get Caught With Your Plans Down,” Ronald D. Stephens, National School Safety Center, Fall 1990

“Lessons Learned: An FBI Perspective,” SSA Joseph A. Harpold, Dr. Stephen R. Band, Behavioral Science Unit, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, Report from the School Violence Summit, Little Rock, AR, August 18-19, 1998

“Investing in Girls: A 21st Century Strategy,” Juvenile Justice, Volume VI, Number 1, Journal of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, October 1999, NCJ # 178254

“Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report, NCJ # 178257, available free from Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, P. O. Box 6000, Rockville, Maryland 20849-6000, 800-638-8736

Books: Spiritual

“Helping a Neighbor in Crisis,” and “God and the Victim,” both edited by Lisa Barnes Lampman, Neighbors Who Care, 800-692-7770

Additional Information

Main NOVA Victim Information Section

How to Get Help After a Vicitmization Main Page

Other Resources: Links, Phone Numbers, and Readings