Riding in the car headed to a family reunion/quick vacation and guess what? I couldn't put SAFE by Susan Shaw down! The author has placed herself in the mind of an eighth grade girl that has been brutally raped on her way home from school on the last day of classes. The emotions and fears this young lady goes through tears at your heart.
Tracy is raped and left for dead by the brother of a classmate. Since Tracy's mother is deceased she is raised by her father. Sadly the father tries to help Tracy by getting counseling, but she does not want to deal with what happened. Tracy hides things enough that the father thinks things will just eventually get better. He is wrong. She wants to forget it, but it won't go away. Slowly she shuts herself off - won't leave the house, alienates her best friend, then isolates herself from all other friends and classmates. Her only escape is playing the piano, which was not something she originally enjoyed. Her music teacher and the final therapist she will get will help her to finally open up and express her feelings either through music or verbally. But to finally reach her breaking point it takes Tracy falling apart and awaking on Monkey Rock disoriented after she can't deal with the fear that her attacker will possibly plea not guilty at his court hearing. Finally Tracy can "hear" the voice and "feel" her mother again. The poem she found on her first visit to the first therapist's office has even more meaning and power to her at the end.
Anyone who has a friend that is raped or a teacher that experiences a student that has been raped would do well to read this book. It gives you some insight to what they could be feeling but not answers on how to help, other than DON'T abandon them. Be there but don't talk about the rape unless they talk to you about it first.
No comments:
Post a Comment