The Willow Tree

THE WILLOW TREEby Elan CarsonElan Carson has written a sensitive, first-person account of Emma, a young woman who has suffered abuse from her stepfather. With considerable skill she has elaborated the details of Emma's life as a young woman from when she was a sophomore in high school until the beginning of her post-grad years.In the story Emma has great difficulty entering into normal relationships. When she tries to tell people what is happening to her, no one, including her mother or her school counsellor, believes her. She blames herself for what has happened; she believes she is ugly and a loser; her self-esteem approximates zero minus. She becomes isolated, vulnerable and bullied. This is the story of her struggle to find love, confidence in herself and a life worth living. She suffers incredible self-hate and self-rejection that overwhelms her ability to believe in herself and to act in her own self-defense. Her power has been taken from her, and she is at a loss for how to regain personal power.The character of Emma unfolds true to the profile of a woman sexually abused in childhood, especially of an intelligent young woman who is emotionally confused and unable to establish solid social relationships.Readers will often care about Emma and cheer her onward in finding her way. At times they will despair of her ever reaching her goal. It is important to read Emma's story. There are many more Emmas out there needing us to listen and support them than we are aware of and this book gives us the chance to see what it feels like to have suffered abuse and to feel its increasing paralysing effect in her life. Complicating Emma's struggle is her sense of racial inferiority because she has a body that does not fit the ideal in a dominant Caucasian society.The story is set in Detroit although we have little description of place. We know little of Emma's family in this story in terms of economic standing, day-to-day life, personalities and so on. I think some rounding out of the story location and secondary characters would give us a stronger sense of the setting and of Emma herself.The story title, The Willow Tree, gives us the symbol of what it is that Emma longs for. Carson utilises this symbol to give powerful meaning to Emma's quest.Carson has a gift for symbol and figure of speech almost poetic. The story of this introverted, confused young woman is told with original style that borders at time on stream of consciousness; because she is so centred on her journey.I congratulate the author for undertaking this difficult theme, and strongly recommend this novel to all readers interested in women's growing up experiences.

I received a copy of "The Willow Tree" from the author against an honest review.“The Willow Tree” is the dizzying emotional journey of Emma’s experience as a sexually abused teenager by her step-father, Adam, and the emotional and psychological trauma it leaves in its aftermath. It is rare to get even a glimmer of the perpetrator’s background to shed some light on his sick behavior, so it was satisfying to learn of Adam’s past, presented as fact, not excuse, for his abuse of this innocent girl. Hurt people hurt people is a truism, evidenced in Ms. Carson’s novel.Emma desperately tries to fit in, bond with other girls her age, establish a relationship with boys, but despite her efforts, her lack of self worth and her fragility work against her efforts, her neediness and despair for acceptance and affection a deterrent for a meaningful and lasting relationship with either boy or girl.Any story of child sexual abuse requires the kind of lean writing only an experienced author can bring to the page. Ms. Carson’s handling of Emma’s story is an exercise in verbal gymnastics, at times obscuring the story by too flowery language. It’s never a good idea to surprise the reader, which happens a few times in this book. Emma’s beloved dog dies, but with that incidence I learn of the dog’s existence for the first time. Emma is in therapy, but this is mentioned only once without detail as to where therapy leads or if Emma pursues therapy. Also, it was a surprise to me to find Emma in Paris, but apart from a few stray words in French and the mention of her French family, the story falls short on local color or the purpose of her stay.Ms. Carson’s handling of this very emotional story is knowledgeable, unsparing in detail as to Emma’s pain, her dashed hopes and despair. I missed more dialogue, would have welcomed less narrative. As written, I was confused at times as to where the story takes me, missing the author painting pictures for me instead of telling me. Altogether, however, “The Willow Tree” is a remarkable story of a woman’s journey after having been sexually abused. I commend Ms. Carson’s handling of this very sensitive issue without falling into the trap of maudlin pity or justification.

I received a copy of this book free in response to an offer of review. I have to say that I struggled with it in parts, although I immediately recognized the writer's extraordinary talent. The book is rich in description and ''word magic'', though at times I felt overloaded. The writing captures the protagonist's raw emotion superbly, and successfully transports the reader into the character's shoes, but at times it is heavy-going because of the depth of emotion and the extraordinary honesty.I found it hard at times to understand what was happening and I think this was partly due to a social and cultural distance between myself and the protagonist, but also to the absence of a clear story line and causal sequence. The story seemed to ramble in the same way that the character's thoughts rambled. It lacked direction in the same way that the character's life lacked clear direction. I suspect this was quite deliberate, because the author wanted the reader to feel the character's confusion and sense of loss, but for me it resulted in lost interest at times and the need to force myself to keep reading. I would have liked to have found a clearer story line and a causal chain of events, but that's personal taste only. I see the clear merit in the work and its appeal to those whose preferences differ from mine.I congratulate Elan Carson on this work. It is at once moving, disturbing, frightening, and enlightening - a brutally honest account of the after-effects abuse and the suffering of those living with depression and PTSD - but a most unusual novel.

this was bought for my wife who is finding it a bit hard going at the moment.