Furiousity
by
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Secrets shared It was on one of our ‘happy chats’ in the chook house or down in the back shed that I plucked up courage and I tried to tell George that I was unhappy and sad but he had his back to me when I told him that I had been molested by an uncle. Did he hear anything I had said? I was waiting for him to be angry with me. I didn’t want to see his face. He just went on hammering a nail into a piece of wood. Maybe he wasn’t really deaf. Maybe Mum was right when she accused him of ‘not listening’.I thought he had heard what I said when he turned to me and said, “You have everything you need”. I think I was about 6 or 7 years old when the molestation began but I was older when I told Dad. In case it hasn’t been made clear so far I need to say that George didn’t know how to teach me anything other than tolerance and acceptance. He didn’t have to teach me how to use those things. I had his good example to get me through. It didn’t help with the molestation issue because I was too young to know what was right and what was wrong. He heard nothing but I heard acceptance. What I couldn’t understand was how I could go on having that horrible uncle doing horrible things to me without telling everyone that he was a monster. I took all of that to mean that I had to put up with it. George never ever told me to grin and bear it but that’s what I thought I had to do. I really hoped he wouldn’t say I needed a deadly weapon to rid myself of that nasty monster. I had turned into a schemer constantly looking for a way out of going once a month to the other side of town to have dinner with people I didn’t like. I tried the “don’t feel well” and even thought about painting spots on my body. Nothing worked. I kept looking for clues. I kept wanting to find a solution so that I wouldn’t have to keep hating Sundays, the Jerk family and cold meat and salad. Most of all I was looking for a way to stop hating myself. I told George about my anger and self disgust but it was always behind his back. I never ever wondered if my Dad heard me when his hearing aid was whistling in his pocket. It had all been such a shock to me. Each time it happened I would want to go and hide in a cupboard or go out and sit in the car but I was always led back into a room full of people who looked at me as though I must have been on some special outing. I would bite my lip and wait until I could go to the toilet to have a little cry. I was so helpless and so lost. Did this happen to lots of girls or only the oldest in the family? Or was it just because I happened to be clever and princess-like? I didn’t know how to stop being that way. I am now horrified that I had decided that maybe when she was old enough I could palm horrible uncle off on my sister who was eighteen months younger than me. I would wait and plan my exit. Perhaps I could find a way to outsmart the monster. I could find no words to use to stop him. I was too small to hurt him. I didn’t feel I could tell Mum. Is that what George meant? I knew he would never say anything to hurt me. In the meantime I would continue to pray and ask God to deal with my tormentor. I would just take time to succeed in getting him to die. In the midst of all those evil thoughts I would whimper, “Gentle Jesus meek and mild”. I couldn’t say the rest.
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About the Book
Often passed down through generations, furiousity is a learned behavior that feeds racism, bullying, sexism, and all the sayings and decisions that make us fearful and obnoxious. Thankfully, it is possible to stamp out this somewhat contrived feeling of anger and teach adults that speaking with love is the only way to show a child that they are adored, clever, and that they have what they need to be happy. Maudie K uses her personal story and examples to challenge anyone who deals with children to intervene when they hear harmful words spoken to youngsters of all ages. While revealing insight into her dark childhood experiences and healthy relationship with her father who understood the impact of destructive communication, Maudie demonstrates why it is important for adults to interrupt negative talk, stand up for innocent victims, and teach them to be strong and love themselves, inside and out. Furiousity shares one woman’s personal story and insights into why it is imperative that adults interrupt and convert negative communication into positive statements that allow children to grow and be mentally healthy. The next time you hear someone say something cruel and hurtful to any child, find a way to be a serious but kind intervention to stop the ‘sledging’ or ‘cringe’. If that is happening to a child in your life, then be someone they can trust and feel safe to tell the story to. Every cent of profit will go to a registered Australian charity associated with the welfare of children. The details are known only to the publishers, the charity and a few family and friends to maintain the privacy of the parties involved.
About the Author
Maudie K is real and so is her story. She is passionate about interrupting a practice that has been hurting children and teaching them to be cruel and vindictive. This is her first book.