Breaking the Cycle

Zane

Sypnopsis:

Breaking the Cycle is a stunning and moving anthology of stories, each of which focuses on an aspect of domestic abuse. This powerful collection is sure to serve as a wake-up call for people either dealing with a domestic abuse situation, or those watching someone else endure it.

In the title story, Zane describes the turmoil that a young girl suffers at the hands of her stepfather. The girl and her mother plan their escape, but at the last minute the mother falters—causing her to break down and tell her daughter the long history of domestic abuse in her own family. In D.V. Bernard’s “The Lonely Echoes of My Youth,” readers are introduced to a young boy who witnesses an alluring young girl who encourages the boys around her to physically fight one another until they become violent by nature. And Nane Quartay’s provocative story “The Grindstone,” a tale based on the author’s own experience, describes a boy who witnesses a brutal murder, in which a woman decapitates her abusive husband with a machete. The boy’s mother is a victim of abuse herself, and as her son relates the story over and over, she starts speculating about the benefits of sharpening knives on a grindstone.

These stories in Breaking the Cycle capture the dangerous realities of domestic abuse, while also pointing toward the steps that need to be taken to break the cycle that perpetuates it. It is sure to serve as a rallying cry for all those who desire victory over their own victimization, and a guide for understanding the complex undercurrents that make such patterns possible.

ISBN: 1593090218, Paperback