Main Content
The Rules of Survival
The Rules of Survival
by Nancy Werlin
Dear Emmy,
I have decided to write it all down for you, even though I do have my doubts. I wonder if you really need to know exactly what happened to us–me, you, Callie–at the hands of our unpredictable, vicious mother. How we lived back then, when I was fifteen and you only seven, all of us full of fear. And then full of hope when we met Murdoch, the man who seemed to be showing us an easier future. What Murdoch did and what he couldn’t do. What you and I did. Part of me hopes that you’ll go along happily your whole life and never want to know the details.
But I need to make sense of it. I need to try to turn the experience into something valuable for you, and for myself–not just something to be pushed away and forgotten. Emmy, the events we lived through taught me to be sure of nothing about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world who mean you harm.
Matthew
I have decided to write it all down for you, even though I do have my doubts. I wonder if you really need to know exactly what happened to us–me, you, Callie–at the hands of our unpredictable, vicious mother. How we lived back then, when I was fifteen and you only seven, all of us full of fear. And then full of hope when we met Murdoch, the man who seemed to be showing us an easier future. What Murdoch did and what he couldn’t do. What you and I did. Part of me hopes that you’ll go along happily your whole life and never want to know the details.
But I need to make sense of it. I need to try to turn the experience into something valuable for you, and for myself–not just something to be pushed away and forgotten. Emmy, the events we lived through taught me to be sure of nothing about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world who mean you harm.
Matthew
Dear Emmy,
I have decided to write it all down for you, even though I do have my doubts. I wonder if you really need to know exactly what happened to us–me, you, Callie–at the hands of our unpredictable, vicious mother. How we lived back then, when I was fifteen and you only seven, all of us full of fear. And then full of hope when we met Murdoch, the man who seemed to be showing us an easier future. What Murdoch did and what he couldn’t do. What you and I did. Part of me hopes that you’ll go along happily your whole life and never want to know the details.
But I need to make sense of it. I need to try to turn the experience into something valuable for you, and for myself–not just something to be pushed away and forgotten. Emmy, the events we lived through taught me to be sure of nothing about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world who mean you harm.
Matthew
I have decided to write it all down for you, even though I do have my doubts. I wonder if you really need to know exactly what happened to us–me, you, Callie–at the hands of our unpredictable, vicious mother. How we lived back then, when I was fifteen and you only seven, all of us full of fear. And then full of hope when we met Murdoch, the man who seemed to be showing us an easier future. What Murdoch did and what he couldn’t do. What you and I did. Part of me hopes that you’ll go along happily your whole life and never want to know the details.
But I need to make sense of it. I need to try to turn the experience into something valuable for you, and for myself–not just something to be pushed away and forgotten. Emmy, the events we lived through taught me to be sure of nothing about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world who mean you harm.
Matthew
Reviews-
-
Daniel Passer's voice is gentle as he tells a horrific story. Fifteen-year-old Matthew and 13-year-old Callie try to protect their 7-year-old sister, Emmy, from the unpredictable rages and cruelties of their mother. They reach out to their aunt, their estranged father, and Murdoch, a stranger turned friend who seems to be a man of courage, in an attempt to get help. This is a story of survival, and as the subtle but brutal abuse mounts, Passer's soft voice expresses a mix of the hush of secrecy and a prayer for an impossible rescue. The courage of Matt and Callie and their eventual release from their mother will make listeners want to cheer. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
