Embers

This is a memoir detailing the experiences of Melanie O'Shea as an abused child. The writing evokes the physical pain of repeated, horrendous physical abuse and delves into the psychological torture she endured. Melanie's stubborn determination to be free of her parents' gruesome tyranny leaves her broken, afraid, and scared for the siblings she fears she abandoned. Each chapter guides the reader through a memory narrated by Melanie as the events unfold. Moving swiftly through the years, the reader is given a glimpse of the permeation of her abuse in every facet of her life including her struggles to survive at home, her inappropriate behavior in school, and the toll it took on her precious few friendships. Labeled a problem-child and humiliated by the adults in her life, Melanie had no refuge from the terror she experienced at her parents' hands. In the final chapters, Melanie considers the value of forgiveness and the place it has when a defenseless child is no longer defenseless.