Silent Cry
A Novel
Dywane D. Birch
- In
- the
- sequel
- to
- Beneath
- the
- Bruises,
- this
- searing
- novel
- explores
- the
- effects
- of
- secondhand
- domestic
- violence
- on
- children.Silent
- Cry
- is
- the
- story
- of
- K’wan
- Taylor,
- the
- now
- fourteen-year-old
- son
- of
- Syreeta
- and
- Randall
- Taylor
- from
- Beneath
- the
- Bruises,
- who
- withstood
- his
- father’s
- sporadic
- outbursts
- and
- berating
- tirades
- by
- wishing,
- praying,
- and
- hoping
- his
- father
- would
- disappear.
- He
- and
- his
- brother
- spent
- years
- watching
- their
- father
- abuse
- their
- mother
- and
- navigating
- a
- home
- that
- felt
- more
- like
- a
- prison.
- Though
- never
- subjected
- to
- the
- abuse
- firsthand,
- the
- secondhand
- abuse—the
- yelling,
- the
- silent
- treatments,
- the
- muffled
- cries,
- the
- walking
- on
- eggshells,
- took
- a
- toll
- on
- their
- psyches.
- Feeling
- helpless
- and
- hopeless,
- K’wan
- spent
- most
- of
- his
- young
- life
- burdened
- with
- the
- pressure
- of
- believing
- he
- had
- to
- protect
- his
- mother
- from
- his
- father’s
- abuse,
- but
- not
- knowing
- how.K’wan
- makes
- his
- way
- to
- a
- residential
- treatment
- facility
- for
- adolescent
- males,
- where
- he
- begins,
- slowly,
- to
- heal
- his
- wounds.
- It
- is
- in
- his
- silence
- that
- he
- shares
- insights
- and
- relives
- painful
- memories
- of
- growing
- up
- in
- a
- home
- of
- violence,
- revealing
- his
- anger
- toward
- his
- father
- that
- spiraled
- into
- a
- deep
- hatred
- and
- consumed
- most
- of
- his
- thoughts.Silent
- Cry
- is
- a
- compelling,
- thoughtful
- look
- at
- how
- children,
- particularly
- boys,
- are
- shaped
- by
- domestic violence.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
