Tooth for Tooth, by Canadian Author Kimberley Payne, is a well-written work of art. Although, the topic of child incest is hard to comprehend and digest, Ms. Payne manages to share this heart-wrenching story in a unique way as she describes the negative emotions one would expect a mother to experience. Heather Williams, the main character, is confronted with the fact that her ex-husband is molesting their young daughter.
Upon the discovery of her four-year old daughter's painful plight, Heather is consumed with the usual emotions of anger, despair, frustration with the system, and desperation to ensure the safety of Caitlin when visiting with her father. Ms. Payne has done a great deal of research in order to describe the number of such cases that exist in society today and basically how they are handled. It is painful to realize how rampant sexual abuse is and that those we think we can trust, are often times, the very perpetrators of these horrible sexual crimes on innocent young children.
Ms. Payne does an excellent job of sharing both Heather's and Caitlin's journeys as they go through the necessary steps in order to heal. Heather manages to find her support system in a Women's Church Group, while Caitlin bonds with an incredible child therapist. Ms. Payne injects some humor into this sad situation by commenting on the physical appearances of the people Heather encounters throughout her journey in finding protection for Caitlin and assistance for herself as she learns to cope with the situation. Ms. Payne also manages to throw in a hint of romance to round off this very difficult topic in order to add some positivity to the theme. By doing so, it helps makes this novel much easier to read as the subject of child sexual abuse, especially incest, is very difficult to even imagine, let alone live with. The end goal in this novel is to effectively deal with the crime committed and to eventually forgive the offender. Ms. Payne does a great job of taking the reader there. Let go...let God is her motto!
(reviewed 10 months after purchase)