Wholeness Healing Center

Nevermore, A Book Review

A recently released book/screen play, Nevermore by Cade Soleil, showcases the shame people carry due to years of abuse as children. The denial for years, and then the gradual acceptance which leads to healing, not just for the abused, but also for those around her, including family who were also victims, really addresses how abuse at an early age can impact lives forever.

The author, a woman, now a counselor herself, from southern United States, lived this story. This is her personal journey, from the realization that she wasn’t alone, to the healing through different modalities, to the sharing of the story to help others heal. The story is a play; the play is the story. The play is set up to feature the author, at different times in her life, with other “characters”, family and those who helped her heal, as she comes to terms with what happened, and finally becomes empowered to use her voice, to speak of the abuse, to heal, and to send out her voice to help others heal. Healing is often hampered in families due to the shame, and the secrets continue the shame; secrets protect no one.

So the book/play is set to be acted by actors and actresses who quite possibly have had some experience with abuse. It is also a hope of the author that part of the proceeds of the performances can be donated to Michael’s Gift (www.michaelsgift.org) and that one performance be for a local domestic violence shelter.  It is her hope that performances can reach low-income people and can also be performed at schools.

So the directions to the play are sparse, simple, clear, and direct, allowing for production license. The vignettes are clearly defined, each with a purpose, and the flow is clean and clear, moving the reader/audience into the story subtly and gently. The pain is evident. The healing strenuous. The journey, the struggle, the shame quite revealing. But at the end, in fact, all the way through, hope shines brightly as the girl becomes the woman and the woman becomes the voice she has stifled for so long. The cloak of denial and shame are left by the wayside, as she becomes responsible for speaking up and letting others know, at being direct within her family, of accepting her role and taking that strength and utilizing it for her healing.

I first read the draft of this play a few years ago and was immediately impacted by the simplicity of the presentation, as well as the directness of the voice of the woman, the abused and the healed.  Hope continued to weave its way through the words, through the pain, through the silence and secrets, through the lives lived. Since then, it has become even more impactful, from the simplicity in the way it is told, to the way it reaches out to all who have suffered physical or sexual abuse.  It is a quick read, but is packed with much wisdom, as well as the deep experience of scars that have been healed. At the end, one of the features is a Reader’s Guide, which contains many thought –provoking questions, allowing the readers continued experience delving into their personal journeys, stimulating even deeper meaning and connection with “the story”. Nevermore is well worth the time, and the experience will leave you with a lighter heart, knowing that even the deepest pain can be healed.

The book is available at Amazon and Balboa; the author can be contacted at cadesoleil.com. She also has a BLOG and Twitter and Faceboook accounts, so you can see/hear/read even more of her incredible journey of healing  and interact personally.

 

Tags: Book Review Nevermore