Books that give realistic insight into the minds of "damaged people" (novel, children)

[Gaylenwoof]

I'm writing a novel in which two of the characters (one male, one female) are emotionally damaged people (childhood abuse, trauma, etc.). The problem is that, personally, I don't have much experience with this, so I need to rely on other people in order to get some perspective on what it is like to be such a person. I'd like to develop these characters in a way that is realistic, interesting, and ideally in a way that had not been done in 100s of other books. I'm especially interested in the idea of introducing the characters in a way that makes their actions and motivations seem incomprehensibly "alien" (and deserving of no sympathy from the reader) at first, but then as the history of character unfolds you begin to comprehend the "logic" of their thinking - the defense mechanisms, etc. that, in retrospect, make the character more understandable.

My main question is: Do you happen to know of any books or movies (fiction or non-fiction) that are exceptionally good at giving insight into characters of this sort?

Moderator cut: no soliciting of any kind please

BTW: These deeply damaged characters are not the main characters of the novel, but they do provide an important sub-plot in which they meet as adults and fall into a dysfunctional romantic relationship that gives everyone a "this is headed for disaster" type of feeling. Ideally I would like to develop a "twist" at the end of this sub-plot, but at the moment I'm not sure what the twist would be, so that idea may not work out. Brainstorming suggestions are, of course, welcome.

[chicagoliz]

I suggest The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Bruce Perry. It's written by a child psychiatrist and talks about traumatized children. It is an excellent book.

[pinetreelover]

Try A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. The main character had a very abusive childhood and suffers throughout adulthood from the psychological effects.

[Tzaphkiel]

Sit through 30 or 40 or 80 meetings of Al Anon. Look in the white pages to find meetings. Don't say you are writing a book . Simply say "some one told me I would benefit from attending" which is absolutely true.

[Tzaphkiel]

Your characters will never be convincing until you realize the following:

1. There is no one walking this planet that is not emotionally damaged.

2. You look down on others and consider yourself above them. It comes through in your posts and it comes through in your stories. Readers and editors spot it a mile away.

3. You can only take readers as far as you've gone yourself, and you admit that you have no understanding of this character. You will never write it with any depth and it will never be convincing.

4. Write what you know. You don't know this. Write about a pedantic aging academic, write about a biiter professor who has a religious experience and is shunned by his atheist colleagues. Those you know and live every day on this forum. The founder of Atheist Ireland secretly attends gospel churches and he faces the ethical dilemma of continuing to lie to his followers as his fame and renown on the atheist circuit grows.

Never mind. I'll write those.

[Gaylenwoof]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

I suggest The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Bruce Perry. It's written by a child psychiatrist and talks about traumatized children. It is an excellent book.

Thanks. I've heard of this book, but have not yet read it. I'm going to bump it up on my reading list.

Originally Posted by pinetreelover

Try A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. The main character had a very abusive childhood and suffers throughout adulthood from the psychological effects.

This looks excellent. I had never heard of it before, but I've ordered the book and will be reading it next. Thanks.

[ElusiveOne1]

Precious (or Push) and The Kid by Sapphire.

[CA4Now]

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

[BobCaldwell]

The Talented Mister Ripley--a GREAT piece of fiction by the talented Patricia Highsmith--gives great insight into the warped and damaged mind of Tom Ripley, to the point where you find yourself feeling sorry for him. One passage describes how, in a fit of frustration, Tom steals and ravenously eats a loaf of bread, simply because he felt the world owed him that loaf of bread. He's a very likeable guy, in spite of his insanity and murderous urges (even though Freddie Miles almost deserved it, brilliantly portrayed in the film by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman).

[jmarkey]

When Rabbit Howls by Trudi Chase. It's an older book but it should be available on Amazon. Non-fiction, it explains how a woman developed multiple personalities. The childhood abuse is very hard to get through, but she's credible and it's well written.