Bookish Thursday - Breaking the Silence by Nancy King

It's time for another blog tour! And again it's in conjunction with WOW-Women on Writing. 

But first, a bit about the book...

About Breaking the Silence:

Secrets. Lies. Silences. Stories told by parents and their families to protect themselves. A father

who defends his wife despite her damage to their daughter’s health and welfare. A mother,

shielded by her husband, who perpetuates murderous acts of violence against the daughter, and

keeps secret her husband’s sexual “play” with the young girl.

And yet … Nancy King, determined to learn the truth of her childhood and the heartbreaking

effects it has had on her adult life, uncovers the secrets. Sees through the lies. Breaks the silence.

Empowered by the stories she told herself as a child, she learns to use stories as part of her work

as a university professor teaching theater, drama, world literature, and creative expression.

Gradually, with the help of body work and therapy, she finds her voice. Says no to abuse and

abusers. Reclaims herself and life. Writes a memoir.

She climbs mountains. Weaves tapestries. Writes books. Makes friends. Creates a meaningful

life.

This is her story.

Product details

 Publisher ‏ : ‎ Terra Nova Books (July 1, 2020)

 Language ‏ : ‎ English

 Paperback ‏ : ‎ 386 pages

 ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1948749491

 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1948749497

 Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds

 Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches

 Best Sellers Rank: #2,282,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

o #2,012 in Child Abuse (Books)

o #3,060 in Abuse Self-Help

o #72,812 in Memoirs (Books)

Purchase your copy now available on Amazon. 

Now my opinion of the book...

First, I do have to advise there are tons of trigger warnings which need to be brought up. There is sexual, physical and mental child (and adult) abuse. It's not an easy book to read, especially if you are dealing with any of these things yourself.

That being said, the format of the book is essentially a series of short essays or memories from King. Which means it is easy to read and put down and then pick it up again. This is definitely not a book to have a cozy binge read with.

And as it turned out, discussions of these topics I have been having recently with a good friend of mine. She has gone through tremendous things growing up, which makes my little issues look a bit whinny. But we have been discussing perceptions looking back 60 plus years and how it's affected how we have gone through life and how we have dealt with those issues.

So it was really comforting in a way to know there are others 'out there' who have made it through the pain and are healing.

Another thing I really like about the book was the fact the author is a woman of a certain age. Huzzah! At 64, I consider myself entering the second half of my life (much to my daughters' dismay!) And there are a ton of things I still want to do and accomplish. Moving forward with gusto!

It's hard to put the word 'enjoy' with reading Breaking the Silence since it's about very uncomfortable subjects. But I am glad I did read it.