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Available online and
in bookstores everywhere!
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2012 ! |
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Childhood is a time of sweet innocence and dreamlike wonder—but not for acclaimed artist Suzzan Blac. Her early years were the stuff of the darkest nightmares: abject poverty, cruel punishment, and spirit-crushing emotional abuse. The monster in her house was hardly imaginary, but her very real mother. Repeated sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather only made things worse. In her tough urban neighborhood in Birmingham, England, even school did not offer a safe haven—merely institutionalized mayhem.
The only solace and release for Suzzan was in the artwork that allowed her to express her anguish and pain: drawings of surreal creatures crying red tears. “Art was a friend that understood and comforted me; I could always lose myself in the images I produced,” she wrote. But the intensity of her drawings was too stark for those around her and so she suppressed her expression and drew what people wanted to see—then stopped altogether.
Adolescence brought a harrowing coercion into the unseemly world of the sex slave business, where she was held hostage and brutalized. Although she escaped physically, she remained a mental prisoner, spiraling into clinical depression, self-loathing and substance abuse. Eventually, marriage to a caring man brought her life’s greatest joy—two children, and suddenly she discovered the true power of a mother’s unconditional love.
Therapy helped her continue on the path to healing, yet the pain and anger from her past still festered deep inside. The only way to exorcize her demons, she realized, was to resurrect her childhood through art. And so she began to paint—42 stunning, graphic pieces, done over four years, capturing the raw, unvarnished truth of a child used and terrorized by those who were supposed to protect her. It would be a decade before she could summon the courage to show the artwork to anyone. When she did, she realized that bringing the paintings to light was her calling: By viscerally revealing the atrocities against children every day, she enables them to speak up and seek help, and encourages adult survivors to bring their own monsters out of the closet and into the open.
This is truly a story of inspiration—of freedom, truth and victory.
REVIEWS
“A solid memoir—about a life reconstructed. Chilling, thrilling, and thought provoking.” —Pearry Teo, Producer; Director, The Gene Generation Necromentia, Teo/Ward Productions
“A compelling and rich read, that ultimately opens our eyes to the human condition.” —Mark C. Clements, author, Lorelei
“This is a thoughtful book, and an important one.” —Christine Ducommun, author, Living with Multiple Personalities
“This images created by this artist, like the words in this book, will quietly sear your heart in ways only loving “right” can do.” —Ron Russell, author, DON CARINA: World War II Heroine
“This book will make us all better people.” —Dave Pelzer, author of A Boy Called It
“Souls cross our paths every day into eternity. Amen.” —Gary S. Chafetz, author, The Morphine Dream
“This book will shake you to your core. Or at least it should. ” —Tony Perri, Producer, Serotonin Rising
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Suzzan Blac is an English, surreal artist who paints images of physical, mental and sexual abuse in a most visceral and direct way. She is an intransigent protagonist who fights on behalf of victims and survivors of abuse to aid their personal recovery, to jolt the apathy of society and enlighten those who impose secondary victimization, which can be as painful as the abuse itself. Suzzan’s work is used in teaching programs to further understanding and insight into the whole spectrum of abuse and as an inspiring facet in helping abuse victims in group therapy. A renowned artist, her art is shown in galleries around the world.
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