Reviews
Black Fury BY SPG >> http://reviews.skbooks.com/?p=1842
Black Fury, Help Me, I’m Naked: Book One
by Donna Miller
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
Review by Catherine Fuchs
$19.95 ISBN 9781894431798
This riveting book takes the reader to knee level to peer into the keyhole of the marriage of the author’s parents. Outwardly they were a good looking and glamorous couple who both tried to hide the abuse that was always smouldering beneath the veneer of their image as “a happy couple.”
Their young daughter, Saskatchewan author Donna Miller, gives us a first hand account of what it was like to grow up watching her father physically abuse her mother. Her father, Joe, was a very socially intelligent yet insecure man who was extremely jealous and controlling of her of mother. He was also a textbook abuser, who would explain away his behavior with his unenlightened remarks such as, “ I admit I’ve slapped her, but only when she deserved it.” Worse, he would mock her bruises by saying to her, “You look so beautiful in blue.” His actions did always seem to come back to haunt him though, like the time he slapped her so hard she fell into a coma and lost the twins boys that she was carrying.
Donna Miller, as a first hand witness to the physical abuse, ended up becoming an expert intercessor for her mother. Donna, unlike her mother, could sense a worsening in her father’s moods and was able to redirect his attention to draw her father out of his seething rage. Her parent’s horrible marriage also transformed her into a girl who would not cry. The author grew to believe that she would always be punished for having a good time and she developed multiple superstitions around worrying, that included “if she didn’t worry, life would giver her something to worry about.” Though it seemed the author escaped the physical abuse, it’s obvious that her early home life left some very deep emotional scars.
Black Fury is part one of Donna Miller’s story and I am sure you will be anticipating the release of her second book to find out the conclusion to this riveting tale.
Black Fury, Help Me, I’m Naked: Book One
by Donna Miller
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
Review by Catherine Fuchs
$19.95 ISBN 9781894431798
This riveting book takes the reader to knee level to peer into the keyhole of the marriage of the author’s parents. Outwardly they were a good looking and glamorous couple who both tried to hide the abuse that was always smouldering beneath the veneer of their image as “a happy couple.”
Their young daughter, Saskatchewan author Donna Miller, gives us a first hand account of what it was like to grow up watching her father physically abuse her mother. Her father, Joe, was a very socially intelligent yet insecure man who was extremely jealous and controlling of her of mother. He was also a textbook abuser, who would explain away his behavior with his unenlightened remarks such as, “ I admit I’ve slapped her, but only when she deserved it.” Worse, he would mock her bruises by saying to her, “You look so beautiful in blue.” His actions did always seem to come back to haunt him though, like the time he slapped her so hard she fell into a coma and lost the twins boys that she was carrying.
Donna Miller, as a first hand witness to the physical abuse, ended up becoming an expert intercessor for her mother. Donna, unlike her mother, could sense a worsening in her father’s moods and was able to redirect his attention to draw her father out of his seething rage. Her parent’s horrible marriage also transformed her into a girl who would not cry. The author grew to believe that she would always be punished for having a good time and she developed multiple superstitions around worrying, that included “if she didn’t worry, life would giver her something to worry about.” Though it seemed the author escaped the physical abuse, it’s obvious that her early home life left some very deep emotional scars.
Black Fury is part one of Donna Miller’s story and I am sure you will be anticipating the release of her second book to find out the conclusion to this riveting tale.
"Donna Miller's rebel spirit brings her to the forefront of Saskatchewan authors. With a superb blend of hard-hitting bluntness, deep faith and a dash of honour, she tells her true story of not only surviving abuse, but rising above to a much higher ground!"
Wes Funk, author of Dead Rock Stars, and Wes Side Story.
Wes Funk, author of Dead Rock Stars, and Wes Side Story.
Black Fury the first in Help Me I'm Naked series
Donna Miller, The StarphoenixPublished: Wednesday, August 21, 2013
I've always wanted to write. When I was a kid I wrote a story about a wild stallion that comes to the rescue of a valuable young mare, trapped in an overturned trailer.
I also liked to daydream. I'd daydream sitting under a tree, while washing dishes, everywhere. It used to be one of my favourite activities. I could create whatever reality I chose. My father didn't really beat my mother and I most certainly was not a sickly, helpless little girl with Einstein-like hair. I was a powerful avenger who went about stamping out evil in this world. I was Black Fury!
I grew up, got married and began raising a family of my own, six children. Though busy I managed to write a little now and again, even finishing a sci-fi, which I hope to someday get published.
Then my kids left home. I began writing a fiction novel, using bits and pieces of my life but with a story-book ending (we writers are lucky in that we can give ourselves any ending we choose). I joined the Rosetown Writers Group who politely informed me that my writing was incoherent. I was devastated. Fortunately, a couple of the members took me under their wings. "Try writing your story; your true story, and in the first person."
Ouch, I thought, and what about my nice fairy-tale ending?
I struggled; it hurt but I did it. Then I scrimped, saved and found a publisher/editor to help me selfpublish. In September of 2012, I became the proud mother/author of the book Black Fury. In March of this year, my book took first place in non-fiction at the Great North-West Book Festival.
Black Fury is the first of a series entitled Help Me I'm Naked which is my mother's, my aunts' and my story.
Black Fury is available at most bookstores as well as online through www.yournickelsworth.com, amazon.ca and chapters.ca. A big thanks to them and to these other vendors:
Rosetown and Delisle Co-ops; Rosetown and Biggar Pharmacies; Delisle and Radisson Antique Stores; Cozy Corner Café in Hafford; Sandy Ridge store on Highway 14; and The Store in Perdue.
You can also "like" Black Fury on Facebook.
Donna Miller, The StarphoenixPublished: Wednesday, August 21, 2013
I've always wanted to write. When I was a kid I wrote a story about a wild stallion that comes to the rescue of a valuable young mare, trapped in an overturned trailer.
I also liked to daydream. I'd daydream sitting under a tree, while washing dishes, everywhere. It used to be one of my favourite activities. I could create whatever reality I chose. My father didn't really beat my mother and I most certainly was not a sickly, helpless little girl with Einstein-like hair. I was a powerful avenger who went about stamping out evil in this world. I was Black Fury!
I grew up, got married and began raising a family of my own, six children. Though busy I managed to write a little now and again, even finishing a sci-fi, which I hope to someday get published.
Then my kids left home. I began writing a fiction novel, using bits and pieces of my life but with a story-book ending (we writers are lucky in that we can give ourselves any ending we choose). I joined the Rosetown Writers Group who politely informed me that my writing was incoherent. I was devastated. Fortunately, a couple of the members took me under their wings. "Try writing your story; your true story, and in the first person."
Ouch, I thought, and what about my nice fairy-tale ending?
I struggled; it hurt but I did it. Then I scrimped, saved and found a publisher/editor to help me selfpublish. In September of 2012, I became the proud mother/author of the book Black Fury. In March of this year, my book took first place in non-fiction at the Great North-West Book Festival.
Black Fury is the first of a series entitled Help Me I'm Naked which is my mother's, my aunts' and my story.
Black Fury is available at most bookstores as well as online through www.yournickelsworth.com, amazon.ca and chapters.ca. A big thanks to them and to these other vendors:
Rosetown and Delisle Co-ops; Rosetown and Biggar Pharmacies; Delisle and Radisson Antique Stores; Cozy Corner Café in Hafford; Sandy Ridge store on Highway 14; and The Store in Perdue.
You can also "like" Black Fury on Facebook.
An interesting surprise
Customer rating 4.0/5.0
March 12, 2014 By Amy Auker
I am a very picky reader and do not always appreciate having a book thrust into my to-be-read pile. However, Black Fury was a wonderful surprise. Miller's voice is strong, clear, and ages along with the little girl Korel. She slips from this voice only rarely. This often brutal story is told in a very straightforward way that sucks the reader along with few bumps or seams. While the author occasionally gets in her own way, the reader forgives simply because we've also gained compassion and empathy through story... which is what story is all about.
Customer rating 4.0/5.0
March 12, 2014 By Amy Auker
I am a very picky reader and do not always appreciate having a book thrust into my to-be-read pile. However, Black Fury was a wonderful surprise. Miller's voice is strong, clear, and ages along with the little girl Korel. She slips from this voice only rarely. This often brutal story is told in a very straightforward way that sucks the reader along with few bumps or seams. While the author occasionally gets in her own way, the reader forgives simply because we've also gained compassion and empathy through story... which is what story is all about.