Nevermore
by
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SADNESS
(KATE moves into home setting and sits opposite SARAH)
SARAH: Mom I’m having nightmares again…like I used to years ago…remembering that man holding me down and rubbing his body on mine…and hurting me.
KATE: (earnestly) Sarah, I’m so sorry. What did I do when you told me?
SARAH: (slowly and quietly) I didn’t tell you.
KATE: (without hesitation) Why didn’t I stop it? I’m so sorry I didn’t stop it.
SARAH: (a little stronger) I didn’t tell you.
KATE: (shaking her head) I can’t imagine why I didn’t help you. Please forgive me.
SARAH: (emphatically) Mom, I never told you.
INKLINGS
KATE: (turning sadly to face the audience as SARAH exits) I remember going to a therapist four years before Sarah told me…before Dad died… I just knew I needed to talk to someone, and this therapist had worked with my family members in the past. He seemed nice, and kind, and intelligent, and his father was a bishop who had spent time in our home. Surely seeing him would be wise…and safe. (She moves into the office setting and sits opposite DR. ADAMS.)
DR. ADAMS: Kate, why are you here?
(When KATE and others speak of their past, their voices change as if they are entering a frightening chasm of their souls, then discovering an important jewel of information which helps them become more whole.)
KATE: I’m here because of my guilt.
DR. ADAMS: What do you mean?
KATE: (quickly) Dad’s slowly dying of cancer. I just know that once he dies, we’ll be okay. (pauses) We’ll all be okay. (slowing) I’m so embarrassed about how I feel, but I just know we’ll be okay once he dies.
DR. ADAMS: (after a long pause) Perhaps then you’ll know the truth. (He pauses)
Oh, and Kate, remember your mother…she’s hurting, too.
(MOM steps in. DR. ADAMS freezes as if he is gone.)
MOM: What did he say?
KATE: (pacing) Mom, he said perhaps once Dad dies, we’ll know the truth.
MOM: (softly and slowly) And, what IS the truth?
KATE: I don’t know. (surprised at her own response and shaking her head slowly)
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About the Book
Each incident of childhood sexual abuse can foster up to twenty-six basic reactions that range in type and degree. They can manifest as mistrust, social isolation, memory problems, self-blame, and they often even result in repeated victimizations and self-harm.
Prior to my training as a counselor, I had thought that those twenty-six consequences were unique to me...that I was alone in my pain. Once I realized that I was not alone and also that these reactions were totally normal responses to abuse, I was determined to find a way to show others that they, too, were not alone...that they were also normal, rational, and probably safe now. I wanted to show them that they really could heal.
Nevermore is the intricately woven, multi-generational play that resulted from that desire. It is a story about abuse in all of its ugliness and all of its sameness.
About the Author
Cade Soleil has spent decades functioning in corporate America with fancy titles after her name. She is most proud of her last eight years spent fulfilling her purpose.