Originally Published in 1992. A second edition was published in 1993 entitled, Paperdolls: A True Story of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Mormon Neighborhoods.
As Carol Scott writes in the epilogue for Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots:, "THE SUCCESS OF PAPERDOLLS over the years is an indication to April and me of how hungry many people are for true accounts of child abuse. We expected to receive declamations that our story was too bizarre to be true, but there have been none. Instead, we received many responses saying,” This could be my story.”
January 10, 2024: Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots
Paperdolls and Cowboy Boots The original Paperdolls: Healing From Childhood Sexual Abuse in Mormon Neighborhoods and the true events of the subsequent decades.
As April writes in the prologue of the soon to be released version, "When contemplating this next ideation of Paperdolls, Carol and I joked that it would be like the Old and New Testament."
This release will contains the original Paperdolls and includes the true events of the subsequent decades.
The primary audience is survivors. As April states, "If I can do it, anyone can. Life is worth living. Stay on this planet. You are not alone. Your life is sacred. Stay here."
Paperdolls: Healing from Sexual Abuse in Mormon Neighborhoods, 1992, 1993
April's Substack: Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots
To be notified upon the release of the January 10, 2024 Updated Version, please sign up for April's Substack:
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." --Maya Angelou
Change can be painful. Your life is worth pushing through the pain.
Co-Author April Daniels has started a substack site primarily for survivors
Founding and paying members will receive extra content and support--including one free copy of Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots when it is released. While anyone can sign up for email notifications from the site, April has limited those who comment to be members or paying subscribers. DARVO (Denial, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender) is real. Hopefully by limiting those who can comment to paying subscribers, it will increase the likelihood of creating a safe and healing place online for survivors of sexual assault.
If you are a survivor and cannot afford the fee, you may be eligible for free membership access.
1 / 6
“A book which will allow others to be open about their experiences so that healing can begin.” –Gloria Steinem
2 / 6
“This book moved me again and again. It is a stunningly honest attempt of two wom-en’s journeys – one private and anguished, the other public and outraged. It speaks openly about a taboo subject in our culture, a subject that usually compels us to turn away, or laugh behind our hands … But here, in this book, the subject is exposed with such depth and humanity I am finding I am drawn right into the middle of these women’s lives. --WENDY HAMMOND, playwright and author of Jersey City and Family Life: Three Brutal Comedies
3 / 6
Destined to become a survivor manual, Paperdolls unfolds the “true crime” story no journalist wants to write and no police officer wishes to investigate. With warmth and intelligence these authors blast light into the dark corners of a determinedly “innocent” society. Their honesty convinces and enlightens, offering hope even as it urges confrontation. --LINDA SILLITOE, Utah Holiday magazine, Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders, and Sideways to the Sun
4 / 6
Child sexual abuse pervades our communities. Rarely do we understand its devastation. I applaud the courage which emanates from every page of this book. The journey to personal peace is an ongoing battle, but to refuse to travel is to accept continued victimization. Paperdolls will serve as one more voice crying out to stop child abuse. --L. SCOTTI DAVIS, Former Director, Utah Chapter, National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse
5 / 6
In Paperdolls, the authors chronicle the trauma of sexual abuse as only individuals who have lived through this horror can. This book should be read by AMAC’s (Adults Molested as Children), therapists working with victims and perpetrators, and any person who has not yet confronted the reality of sexual abuse or denies it could happen in their family or neighborhood. --C.Y. ROBY, Ph.D., Former Director, Intermountain Sexual Abuse Treatment Center
