After a small hiatus due to Life Of A Nerdish Mum HQ moving house at the weekend, I am back and I am honoured today to be part of the blog tour for Clipped Wings by Jennifer Gilmour. Clipped Wings is a collection of stories from survivors of domestic abuse, so if this may be upsetting for you, please do not continue on with this post.
Reviewing Clipped Wings has been quite difficult, not only for the content and subject matter, but as to how I would actually review the book. Being a collection of survivors accounts in their own words means that I couldn't review it in the manner I normally would and so I am going to try my best to do it justice.
Leaving each story in each survivors own words I think was a potentially problematic approach, but one that ended up working extremely well. As each person is from a different place with their own vernacular, it could have made reading the book harder than just the content due to it not flowing as well. However the use of the survivors own words and language makes each story even more personal and the emotions are extremely raw and stark. Allowing the people to explain in their own way gave them power in my opinion.
Each experience from the survivors (both male and female) are all incredibly different, though they all share similar traits in how the abuse started, usually with words. Some survivors are further along in their recovery and from an outsider looking in, it was fascinating how different people have coped both during the abusive relationship and then after.
Though the descriptions of what the survivors went through are difficult to read, it is heartwarming to see so many of them living happy and full lives, in healthy relationships and so many that are on their way to recovery and a good life doing what they want to make themselves happy and not someone else.
This isn't an easy read, but it is an important one. Giving a voice to survivors makes the problem visible and it can help people who may be in a similar situation see that they are not alone and there can be a light at the end of the the tunnel. There is also advice given at the end of the book by Jennifer Gilmour who is a survivor herself, in case you may need it or know someone who does.
From an early age, Jennifer has had a passion for writing and started gathering ideas and plot lines from her teenage years. A passionate advocate for women in abusive relationships, she has drawn on her personal experiences to write this first novel 'Isolation Junction’. It details the journey of a young woman from the despair of an emotionally abusive and unhappy marriage to develop the confidence to challenge and change her life and to love again.
Since the publication of her debut novel Jennifer has continued to be an advocate for those in abusive relationships through her blog posts, radio interviews and Twitter feed. Jennifer also gained a qualification in facilitating a recovery programme for those who have been in abusive relationships.