Out Of The Shadows by Theresa Sederholt – Review by Jennifer Gordon

Out Of The Shadows by Theresa Sederholt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Firstly if I could give this more stars I would! Wow, just Wow.
“This is a journey into one man’s hell, with the hope that it will help others find the strength to be able to say, I need help”.
Out of the Shadows by Theresa Sederholt is a story about Dane Johnson and his teenage son Brady, they both share a secret and that is that they are both victims of domestic violence at the hands of Julie, Dane’s teenage sweetheart and Brady’s mother. Sederholt takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster as we are given a glimpse into Dane and Brady’s life. Told from their point of views it is so well written that I felt I was there with them, I felt what they were feeling. I was there as Brady cowers in his closet with his noise cancelling headphones on and when Dane has a glass or a mug thrown at him from across the room which only misses him because he has got so used to dodging flying objects that his wife has thrown.
This novel is not only a great read but it also has such a powerful message about domestic violence in particular when the victim is the man in the relationship rather than the ‘normal’ scenario in books which focuses on the women as the victim. Everything that happens has such a ring of truth to it that I was overcome with emotions reading this gripping domestic drama. I won’t give away any spoilers but things do come to a dramatic head and Dane and Brady’s secrets have to come out. Along with a selection of other great characters all of whom have their own detailed backstory the plot moves along at a fast pace.
With the help of Brady’s best friend Danni and guidance counsellor Abby who is battling her own demons as a victim of her husbands violence towards her in the past and lawyer Josh, father and son realise they are not alone and that for anything to change they need to ask for help.
A clever twist near the end is how Sederholt suddenly gives us a chapter from Julie’s point of view and suddenly we see the situation not from victims Dane and Brady’s view point but from the women causing the violence.
I literally could not put this book down, full of twists and turns it was an unpredictable read, the drama builds with each chapter and leads to a dramatic outcome. I feel the book is very sympathetically written by the author and that she has done her research into domestic violence.
I hope this book does what the author obviously intended and that is not just to give us a brilliant novel to read but also to raise awareness of domestic violence in all forms. Information is given at the end of the book of organisations who can help those experiencing domestic violence and also alcohol addiction.
I can not recommend this book highly enough.

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