A Story of Transcendence
Father's Touch review by Nissa
Amazon.com
Father's Touch is a courageous autobiography of incest, healing, and discovering
self-love and acceptance. A unique aspect of Donald's book is that in addition
to telling his story he also tells the story of his mother and siblings.
For survivors of abuse whom also deeply love their family Donald offers a story of a family's journey to survival, escape and triumph. His mother was also a victim to his father, in her innocence and isolation. While Donald tells his own story he also reaches out compassionately to other survivors. In reading his book I felt I had found a friend.
Father's Touch is written like a novel, and I immediately became absorbed into
the book, reading it through to the end in a few days, not wanting to put it down.
As a survivor myself, there were aspects of his experience that I strongly related to.
I have read many memoirs of sexual abuse, and Father's Touch is one of the best.
The feelings and reactions that Donald had as a child and as an adult were very
familiar to my own experience. I am very grateful for Donald's honesty, and for
the great courage it took him to write this book. Reading Donald's book gave me
a deeper understanding of a male's perspective as an incest survivor. For all
of these reasons I highly recommend this book.
Father's touch not only exposes incest within a family, but also a town,
a religious community, and a legal system that did not protect children. I hope
that people who read this book will gain insight into how to better protect our
children, and will gain a deeper awareness of how common and horrific sexual
abuse is.
Donald also includes excerpts from his father's writing and letters
that show the extent of his father's denial and lies towards his family.
In his Epilogue Donald says that all his life he felt special, and maybe
it's because he is. I agree with that. Donald was an incredibly special child,
and he is a special adult that he has remained so kind and caring despite what
was done to him. Despite the sad context of the book Donald writes in a way that
keeps the reader uplifted and hopeful.
Donald is a survivor and a transcender.
He gives me hope.