Source: Lillian Cauldwell
Date: 01/03/2010

Provocative! Compelling! I found Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor’s Story by Lynn C. Tolson difficult to put down. I read it in three nights because the subject material required time-offs for my mind to absorb everything that was written. People who have never been abused can't realize how the different types of abuse can maim a person. In Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor’s Story the reader is pulled from one emotional crisis into a sordid world of emotional, physical and mental abuse. It didn't seem so at the time, but the protagonist suffered greatly from her parents, brother, husband and relatives lack of understanding on treating the narrator as a piece of filth or something to throw away once done with it.
Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor’s Story is provocative and compelling. It's not a book to read lightly, but a book to spend time with so that you can identify with the narrator and feel the abusive battery that she survives. I give Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor’s Story a 5 star rating. If I could give Ms. Lynn Tolson a 10 star rating, I would have done so. It's a must-read for anyone who's been involved with abusive behavior. Lillian Cauldwell CEO of Passionate Internet Voices Talk Radio

Source: Amazon Reader Review
Date: 08/08/2009

Poignant! Suspenseful! I usually can’t finish a book; I get half-way through and then I quit (even Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt). I sat down to read Beyond the Tears and could not put it down. I read for 3 days, every spare moment. I was mesmerized. What a poignant story! It is incredibly well-written, and the story flows. It is suspenseful and easy to follow. I liked the poetry you incorporated; it is a nice touch. The characterizations are marvelous. You did a great job of describing them. I can just see these people. I did not know them, but by the end of the book I felt I did. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the book. You truly have a gift for writing. I want to re-read it!
Diana B. Shanley, M. S. CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor) Psychotherapy

Source: Amazon Reader Review
Date: 11/10/2009

A Must Read on Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse & Suicide! Reading Lynn C. Tolson’s memoir Beyond the Tears:A True Survivor’s Story and feeling the relentless deluge of misfortune is like traveling through a desert thunderstorm. In the book, as in the desert, the sun comes out at the end and hope reigns.

Author Tolson draws you into her world on the first page with clear setting details of the outer storm and candid inner monologue of the despair that urges her to end her life. As readers experience Lynn’s desperate plight, two questions emerge: 1. Will she pull herself out of deep depression? and 2. What in her experience of life brought her to this desperate situation?

In subsequent chapters I felt as though I was struggling through perils with Lynn. I experienced the shock and shame of recalling incestuous acts, the guilt of addictions and the empty sense of self that couldn’t walk away from a destructive and violent partner.

Lynn aptly shows readers the slow steady process of recovery of a positive sense of self and an empowered definition of personhood. She doesn’t tread lightly on her shortcomings or on the abusive family relationships that ate away at her self respect. With keenly honed writing the author carries the reader with her up the arduous route to recovery. In the end, we feel her hope and her reclaimed and empowered sense of self.

As one who grew up in an incestuous situation, I highly recommend Beyond the Tears to other survivors and their supporters. Partners of survivors can gain insights that will benefit their relationships. Lynn’s narrative account of recovery can reveal to therapists information that their clients may resist sharing. Student’s training to counsel sexual abuse survivors can see in advance the challenges they may encounter. Families of survivors benefit from reading a first person account of the difficulties a victim faces.

Individuals who are not personally acquainted with a survivor will glean valuable insights to the long term consequences and costs of childhood sexual abuse. In our society that has nurtured a taboo of silence on the subject for centuries; we diminish the pain and angst of innocent victims. We fail to recognize the physical and mental manifestations of sexual victims. Authors’ like Ms. Tolson help us to take a realistic look at what our culture is promoting by not speaking candidly about sexual violence. Joyce Aubrey, Founder, Finding Our Voices

Source: Reader Review
Date: 01/01/2009

Excellent Job! I received your book today & became immediately engrossed in it! Oh, my gosh, the things you have survived! So far, I want to wring Todd's neck for the way he treated you. You did an excellent job of interweaving so much wisdom for healing into the framework of the book. I am highlighting phrases and sentences as I read.

I, too, am learning so much from Karen. I love Karen’s spiritual insights. They, too, remind me of my therapist and how blessed I am to be touched by her guidance. Many of your conversations with Karen remind me of conversations I have had with my therapist. It seems like I am constantly asking her to explain and re-explain things, so it is nice to have so much useful information right at my fingertips now, in your book!

I also really like how you began each chapter with an insightful quote. It adds a lot to the tone of the book and its wisdom.

In your book and others about sexual abuse, it always amazes me how complete strangers (me and the author, in this case you) can have the exact same feelings and reactions, somehow unified by our horrific experiences. I feel validation and comfort in not being alone. Thank you for having the courage to tell your story! I have learned so much from you. With gratitude, Kay

Source: Reader Review
Date: 01/03/2009

Simply Stunning! One of the biggest stigmas of being a survivor of sexual abuse/incest is the fear that no one could possibly ever understand what you've been through. Reading this book [Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor’s Story] is an incredible insight, not only into Lynn's experiences, but also into the realization that there are other people who can and DO understand! You are not alone. Anonymous

Source: Reader Review
Date: 02/01/2009

Moving and Inspiring! Beyond the Tears is amazing. It's a story of incredible courage, strength, and will to not only survive but to thrive and help others. I'm inspired by Lynn's desire to help other women by publishing her own story of trial and suffering. Any woman who has ever suffered childhood abuse or domestic violence will relate to this touching narrative of Lynn's life. Lynn C. Tolson's story gives hope to all women who have ever suffered any form of abuse. Kelly L. Stone, author of Time to Write

Source: Reader Review
Date: 01/01/2009

Not Only For Women My girlfriend told me about scary experiences in her childhood. I thought I came from a dysfunctional family. Hers was really bad. By all appearances, hers seemed like a decent family. You never really know the whole story. It was hard for her to tell me the details, so she asked me to read this book, Beyond the Tears. This book opened my eyes as to what harm can be done to a child. And how the child takes it all in. What I liked most about the book is that the writer is real. She helped me to understand my girlfriend's past. My girlfriend had been in counseling, which helped her a lot. The writer of Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story talks about her own therapy, so I got a glimpse of what my girlfriend was going through. I also liked the way the author moves through the memories of the abuse to find a better way of living. I would not have picked this book off the shelf. I'm glad my girlfriend asked me to read it because I feel like I have more insight and information. Anonymous

Source: Reader Review
Date: 01/01/2009

Superb Book for Male Survivors Too As a male survivor of child abuse, I found Beyond the Tears to be an inspiring story of courage to heal from her traumatic upbringing. Child abuse knows no gender. It causes pain and suffering to all those who endure it. Lynn C. Tolson writes in a clear and driving prose that allows the reader to see life through her eyes. It took enormous courage to write and publish this book. It has been a healing and uplifting experience for me. I hope that all survivors of abuse will read this. I also hope that those in the mental health field take the time to read and digest this work. If you want to know the type of trauma that befalls a person to attempt suicide, read this story. If you want to believe you can heal from this type of nightmare, I encourage you to read this book. I'm thankful it was written. Jeffrey T. Hudec

Not Alone Anymore I haven't read a book [Beyond the Tears] that I have connected to so well in my life. For those that have lived through any type of abuse, this book is a comfort in knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The author, Lynn C. Tolson, leaves nothing behind and embraces her audience with truth. The book is an enlightenment to those that read it. I have felt compelled to be honest with myself as I flipped through Beyond the Tears. I recommend this book to anyone, whether you are just trying to grasp a better understanding or connection or want a truly honest read. I have been blessed by the author's words and inspiration for a brighter tomorrow. Thank you Lynn C. Tolson for an incredibly inspirational book! Jayme E. Puryear

Source: Recovery World
Date: 01/01/2009

Suspenseful! Gripping! If there's something we recovering people like to read most it's a book by another recovering person. Especially one who's really gone through the wringer and come out alive, ready to share experience, strength, and hope. Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story by Lynn C. Tolson is just one of those books. From the very first page Tolson brings you head first into a roller-coaster ride through her life. My knuckles turned white reading the first chapter. The title of the first chapter is "Pills and Prayer." It reads like a treatment to a suspenseful movie. Tolson brings us right into the mind of someone who wants to die and the thought process that goes into such a task. Three pages in and Tolson has your attention. If you are interested in reading a gripping true story about a fellow survivor, Beyond the Tears is the book to choose.
Chris D. RecoveryWorld, 12 Step Recovery

Source: Midwest Book Review, Book Pleasures
Date: 01/01/2009

Be Prepared to be Captivated… And Up All Night During my research on domestic violence to feature in Sisters in the Lord Magazine for October, which happens to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I ran across Lynn C. Tolson's, Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story. By the second paragraph of Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story, I was transported into the mind of a young woman bent on suicide and traveled with her through her suicide attempt, discovery, revival in a cold hospital room and transfer to a psyche ward. This was just in the first chapter. The remainder of my night was shot as I stayed awake, reading each page as quickly as possible so that I might know this woman was okay. That she recovered. That she escaped her abuser and survived. Intense doesn't begin to describe Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story. This writer's true story reads like a best-selling thriller - but it's not fiction. It's Tolson's nightmare that begins the story and her victorious survival that ends it. Peopled with characters we all know in our own lives, Tolson brings her own cast alive with crisp dialogue and action - oftentimes breathtaking with brutal honesty. Tolson's abuse cycle started as a child and continued through her marriage. The pages turn on their own as this compelling true story shows the cycle of abuse, the mindset of the victim, the actions of the abuser, the betrayal of relatives and friends and finally, the first steps toward healing. As I suspected when reading Tolson's story, her true calling was to be a writer, which she revealed in a subsequent interview. She is now working on her second survival story - this time she has survived breast cancer. Beyond the Tears: A True Survivor's Story is critical reading for victims of abuse. Through Tolson's story, many will recognize themselves, their families, their spouses, their friends, and from there, recognize that they, too, can heal-even when death seems like the best solution. Tolson says it best in this quote from her website, "In the meantime, know that my purpose as Lynn C. Tolson is in my initials: LCT, Learning, Creating, Teaching, to provide empowerment of our minds, bodies, and spirits. May this generation break the silence that surrounds sexual assault and incest so that future generations may live in peace."
Dian Moore, Mid West Book Review, Book Pleasures