Have you ever experienced something so horrendous words could not explain? Something that ingrained itself in your brain so deeply, you didn't know how you would ever get it out? In April J. Maley's book, I Will Not Be Silent, that is exactly what occurs.
April was a typical 9 year old little girl except for one problem, she had an abusive-alcoholic for a father. Because of this, she had to take care of her siblings and try to attend school at the same time. Among other things, she also had to do her best to keep the house nice and tidy and cook all the meals. Unfortunately, her parents still found fault in her. She would always become the target for abuse. At night she would pray 'Dear God, please let Dad not be so angry and drink all the time, and for mom, please let her not be so sad and just love me and protect me.'
Throughout time, she saw things that ingrained themselves in her head. Like the time she walked in on her mother holding the gun to her head. Or the time when her parents got in a fight and her father hog tied her mother with and electric heating pad cord. More importantly, she would witness her father threatening to kill her mother over and over again.
One couldn't imagine how things could possibly get worse, but they did. She and her younger siblings were in the car waiting for her mother to return, when she saw the blood coming from her uncle's chest, her mother slumped over in the corner of the bedroom, and her father shouting back and forth at the cops with a gun in his hand. That was the day that changed her life forever.
The actions that day left her being diagnosed with manic depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Her brother Colton became a drug dealer and was in and out of the jail system. Her sister Lilly has had brushes with the law and her sister Mia was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder.
Throughout all of this, April has been able to get her life back on track. She has experienced major ups and downs and had to go through a lot to get were she is now.
I had a hard time writing a review for this book. Even though I recommend every one to read it, it was a hard one to write about. The author wrote this book so well that I could actually picture everything that was going on. I really felt for the character in this book. But putting all that aside, it was a good book to read and should be read by many others.
This book was given to me for an honest review.
Oof--rough stuff! Thank you so much for this review, and for sharing it on the Reading Roundup.
ReplyDeleteBecky (The Book Frog)
PS Come back every Saturday and link to a post (or more than one post : )
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking this up with the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse. This is a very tough subject, but it is so important to spread awareness and talk about it openly.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to face these truths, but it is so important to raise awareness. Thanks so much for allowing us to use this post for THE BLOG CARNIVAL AGAINST CHILD ABUSE. I appreciate your contribution.
ReplyDeleteI grew up as an incest survivor with a father who abused me sexually and he was an alcoholic. I lived constantly with the threat of violence which leaves emotional scars instead of physical ones. Thanks for sharing this post.
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