How to Play Dead is an incredibly important book that I think everyone should read.
It's a thought-provoking story that will stay with you after you finish reading.
It's a difficult topic, you'll have chills when you read it. And if you've experienced stalking or abuse it might be even tougher to go through the pages.
Even though the stories and characters in the book are fictional, they give you a level of discomfort while reading, because you know that these things happen on daily basis in real life!
The main character Ria works at the women refuge SafeMe that supports people who are abused at home. They also help perpetrators to understand what they do and help them change their behaviour. Ria's husband is away for a month on assignment that will bring them enough money to buy a house, and that's exactly when someone starts to stalk her. From flowers and texts, to direct contact with potential tragic consequences.
Thanks to Ria we learn how different it is to seek help if something happens to you and when you're only helping others without being directly involved.
The story is divided between Ria, her life, work at SafeMe and people she interacts with, her past and a diary entries from a girl named Tanya. I really loved how the author merged Tanya's journal to the story, because I was very curious from the start how this character will come together with the rest of the plot.
I liked the characters development and how we learn about the Ria's and her best friend's past. How we meet other women and their partners in various situations. And the clear presentation of pathological behaviours and that they don't exist only in poor families, but also in the rich ones, when guys can be brutal and get away with serious crimes. The characters in the story are complex and each of them teaches you something.
And just to be clear - you do not deserve to be abused.
You do not deserve to be scared and treated brutally by others.
You have right to be free and happy.
If you are in a situation when you're being abused - please do seek help. Please go to the police and find an organisation that will help you. You're not alone!
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Thank you Readers First and Corvus for a copy.
It's a thought-provoking story that will stay with you after you finish reading.
It's a difficult topic, you'll have chills when you read it. And if you've experienced stalking or abuse it might be even tougher to go through the pages.
Even though the stories and characters in the book are fictional, they give you a level of discomfort while reading, because you know that these things happen on daily basis in real life!
The main character Ria works at the women refuge SafeMe that supports people who are abused at home. They also help perpetrators to understand what they do and help them change their behaviour. Ria's husband is away for a month on assignment that will bring them enough money to buy a house, and that's exactly when someone starts to stalk her. From flowers and texts, to direct contact with potential tragic consequences.
Thanks to Ria we learn how different it is to seek help if something happens to you and when you're only helping others without being directly involved.
The story is divided between Ria, her life, work at SafeMe and people she interacts with, her past and a diary entries from a girl named Tanya. I really loved how the author merged Tanya's journal to the story, because I was very curious from the start how this character will come together with the rest of the plot.
I liked the characters development and how we learn about the Ria's and her best friend's past. How we meet other women and their partners in various situations. And the clear presentation of pathological behaviours and that they don't exist only in poor families, but also in the rich ones, when guys can be brutal and get away with serious crimes. The characters in the story are complex and each of them teaches you something.
And just to be clear - you do not deserve to be abused.
You do not deserve to be scared and treated brutally by others.
You have right to be free and happy.
If you are in a situation when you're being abused - please do seek help. Please go to the police and find an organisation that will help you. You're not alone!
-------------
Thank you Readers First and Corvus for a copy.