It's impossible to read a book like this and not think long and hard about the context - the abuse of the powerless, frequently children, by the supposedly powerful. SALVATION is a great title for this book, but more on that in an upcoming full review.
From the Blurb:
In the early 1950s, Rod Braybon's father died, leaving his mother with eight children she couldn't care for. As a ward of the state, Rod was passed from institution to institution until he finally ended up at the notorious Bayswater Boys' Home run by the Salvation Army.
Rod endured years of ill-treatment at the hands of the Salvation Army, then spent a life-time repressing the memories that haunted him.
Finally, after seeing an article in a newspaper, Rod decided to speak out. His story created a nation-wide sensation and won a prestigious award for the journalist who broke it.
That Rod was willing to speak out to try and ease the suffering of others like him, is incredible. That he survived at all, is nothing short of a miracle. Salvation is a story of courage and the indomitable Aussie spirit.
Opening Lines:
It all began with a death. A strange death. A senseless death. A death that would change everything for generations to come. A death that dropped like a stone in a pond, its ripples felt long after the stone was still.
In the early 1950s, Rod Braybon's father died, leaving his mother with eight children she couldn't care for. As a ward of the state, Rod was passed from institution to institution until he finally ended up at the notorious Bayswater Boys' Home run by the Salvation Army.
Rod endured years of ill-treatment at the hands of the Salvation Army, then spent a life-time repressing the memories that haunted him.
Finally, after seeing an article in a newspaper, Rod decided to speak out. His story created a nation-wide sensation and won a prestigious award for the journalist who broke it.
That Rod was willing to speak out to try and ease the suffering of others like him, is incredible. That he survived at all, is nothing short of a miracle. Salvation is a story of courage and the indomitable Aussie spirit.