Review: Portrays Realistic Personality Effects of Trauma Victim!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2013
One of the most long-standing dramas on television is Law and Order--Special Victims... Most of us are concerned about these victims and like to see the criminals face justice...But I have not seen or read, until now, a book about the victim--after the criminal is caught. And what if he isn't caught? A life continues, but it may never be the same...When, however, the victim already has issues from her past that have bothered her, the diagnosis may be much worse.A young man, Peter Martin, has tackled this subject and has done, in my opinion, an outstanding job. Sure you can fault him for some editorial issues which seem to automatically come in ebooks, which mostly I've learned to ignore. After you get lost using today's technology as many times as I have and have to stop and find your place again, then small typos pale in comparison...I love the character in the unit who play on SVU, but the victims usually play a very small role, don't they? That's because, I think, of the sensitivity with which the show is produced. It is not to focus on the criminal act--rather it is to focus on the law and order activity in support of those victims. Kudos to everybody involved in this great program.I've highlighted this because in Against Her Will, there is no cast of characters to "enjoy." Some at the end will be found. The intent of this novel is to share the "reality" of being abused--mentally, physically, of emotionally. You will see a young girl in a number of situations--first she is kept late at work with the boss finding problems with her work. Sure it was good that he took the time to help her, but why wait until closing time to start? Then he asked if he could give her a lift home...Let me stop here and describe our young female character--she is tall, blond, beautiful and has been in many beauty contests, won and then moved on to modeling... In other words, she is used to having attention of men.NOT every woman wants that... Donna definitely did not...She was on her way home to be with her fiancee. Instead she was dragged, kicked everywhere, and raped... A gang came along and would not help her... Finally, an older couple found her and helped...There is no need to go over the actual scenes that followed. We know that a beating of a beautiful woman will be seen and gain sympathy from everybody...Even more so by her parents...But, remember, I said earlier that Donna had never wanted attention to her beauty. In fact, when she was young, her parents, mostly her mother, had forced her to become involved in contests and modelling... She had finally convinced them to let her go to college where she majored in mathematics and was now a Statistical Analyst...And when Donna shared that she might not be able to go back to her job, her mother made arrangements, behind her back, to "accidentally" meet one of her former talent agents and then arranged a photo shoot...About that time, I wanted to take that young woman and help her run away from home... And, indeed, that's exactly what she did...And she wound up placed in a mental hospital...Some of you who've read my reviews know that I retired early due to job burnout. What I haven't said is that I'm still on medication for that traumatic stress after years. The reason I share this is very simple. There wasn't any action by Donna in this novel that has not crossed my mind. Suicide was a passing thought and quickly found unacceptable; however, I've never been raped. Most of you haven't either. Add that to the pressure of parents who wanted to exploit her body due to its monetary value. Many may rebel at my saying that, and it might not be so harsh in real life; however, I can almost guarantee that not every little girl wants to be placed in pageant after pageant, etc. I know I would never consider that as a career...When I went on medical leave, I went into seclusion. Fortunately, I was able to do so since I lived alone. It bothered me to see some comments in reviews that Donna was not a likable character. OMG, of course she's not! Who would be in that situation? An individual can feel fine, confront a trigger, and go off, either crying or angry in a second. This mood switch situation was handled quite effectively by the author. On the other hand, he has succeeded in dealing with the issues facing Donna in a sensitive manner that allowed us to recognize that the aftermath of any type of trauma is different for every individual and we must recognize and give that individual "space" in order to find her way back.Again, here, the author chose an exemplary method to do this, although most who face this situation might not ever have the opportunity as presented to Donna...But I think by using what happened in the way that he did would allow readers to begin to understand how Donna needed to find her own way, even with help...There was only one situation with which I disagreed with the writer and that was when the psychiatrist alluded to the money she was being paid by Donna's parents.That should never happen, but, of course, it could very well happen exactly like that in today's world! Couldn't it?Many kudos to the writer for sensitively covering a subject that is very hard for actual victims to talk about. Whether he's had some personal experience with it or not, I do want to attest to the accuracy of his portrayal of what a victim truly goes through, no matter what the trauma has evolved from... Even though it may not be an enjoyable book to read... The ending is surprising, but still quite satisfactory...Highly recommended for those...who care...GABixlerReviews