No Tears For My Father
- Series: No Tears for my Father
- Series: No Tears for my Father
- Category: Nonfiction » Relationships & Family » Child abuse
- Category: Nonfiction » True Crime » Family violence
- Published: Nov. 13, 2013
- Words: 69,720
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780992049713
Viga Boland is the author of 4 books, three of which are memoirs based on the childhood sexual abuse (incest) to which she was subjected from the ages of 11-24. She kept the abuse secret for nearly 45 years, not even telling her husband and family until she was 65. On hearing the details, her small but supportive family encouraged her to write her true story to help other victims of incest realize they are not alone and to increase awareness of this much denied form of sexual abuse. The result of the encouragement was her first memoir, self-published in 2013, "NO TEARS FOR MY FATHER", for which she received a Gold Medal in the 2014 Readers Favourites Awards.
Today, at 70 years of age, Viga Boland is a popular speaker at conferences on Sexual Violence. She also blogs and podcasts on sexual abuse, (i-Tunes, Stitcher, Podcasts.com) along with teaching memoir writing in her local library. She is also devoted to helping other memoir writers increase their visibility via her blogs and podcasts at http://www.memoirabilia.ca
Viga's 2nd memoir, "Learning to Love Myself" is centered on her story of healing and self-discovery as someone worthy of love. This book is an uplifting and enjoyable read. The 3rd memoir in this series on sexual abuse, "Voice from an Urn", answers questions about Viga's mother's role, if she had one, in the incest. You can listen to sections of this book via her "VIGALAND" podcast. (See Viga's personal website for the links on iTunes and Stitcher)
Viga's other book. a semi-memoir, is a very humorous account of her 4-5 years in a Catholic High School in the early 60's. "The Ladies of Loretto", at this time, is only available from Viga's personal website: http://www.vigaboland.com
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Reviews of No Tears For My Father by Viga Boland
If in your lifetime, you're going to pick up and read just one book on child sexual abuse, then this is THE book! From the graphics soul-baring paragraphs, comes an image of a lonely & frightened young girl who daily has wait hand and foot on her tyrant of a father to satisfy his every demand, including those of lust.
Every chapter is a page-turner, not because it is made up of exaggerated fiction, but because it is unfortunately a true horror story representative of so many other innocent victims' out there. Each painful blow to the head from the father, each bruising lash of his belt, and each act of his sinful lust toward his daughter makes me think of my own precious daughters and their sweet classmates. Furthermore, it angers me to the point of wishing to find all those sick perpetrators out there and castrate everyone of them....Now THAT is powerful writing! Now, I've never been a proponent of violence for violence, but in this case, I doubt that the punishment would even be adequate for the crime -- a crime committed to a shockingly high number of innocent children in every culture, in every time period.
Isn't it time we all do something about this to protect our generations and minimize the demoralization to this degree of lowness? The author's description of violence and of sexual violation is a cry for victims to come out and seek help and is a shout out to raise awareness of child sexual abuse. If prior to reading this heartbreaking memoir, you had been naive about incest, you now know. If you hadn't cared about the topic, you are now moved to take action!
Wow! I sat up late into the night to finish this book. I couldn't tear myself away. 'No Tears For My Father' is an extraordinary story written by an extraordinary woman who not only survived abuse at the hands of a monster, but has written about it with an honesty that often times stops your heart.
Few people could have been as candid as this author. She lays herself bare, making us privy to the physical abuse she endured for thirteen years. But this book is far more than a memoir. The narrative builds like a well-handled work of fiction in which all the main characters develop and grow. At each stage in the drama their motives are revealed or questioned by the author. Most compelling for me were her insights into herself. We observe first-hand her see-sawing emotions, hopes and despair.
A remarkable book. A beacon for others emerging from that same dark, terrible place. And a triumph for the author who has survived, and more.
I received "No Tears for my Father" at lunchtime and started reading. I became so engrossed in it that I kept reading right through to the end, fourteen hours later. The book is so well written that the reader can clearly imagine what the author saw and felt as the shocking events in her life took place. The story intensifies way beyond the first fifty pages leading to a climax and resolution.
Thirty other readers on goodreads.com have given Viga's book a five star rating and have made similar comments to mine. It is a first class read.