These voices that weave the silence

These voices that weave the silence

This collection of poetry explores the dynamics of a dysfunctional family where the father’s alcoholism shapes the days, burns through the nights and eats away at the home like an incurable disease.

The verses highlight everyday scenes: shouting, slamming doors, spilled drinks, broken promises, invisible wounds.

Alcoholism is passed down like an inheritance, transmitted through gestures, silences and scars.

The brothers and sisters move through these poems like ghosts bound by the same pain, unable to break the cycle of arguments, insults, contempt and denial.

The poems alternate perspectives: the child witness, the effaced mother, the turbulent father, the siblings caught in the repetition. The verses serve to weave a polyphony of guilt, fear and clumsy tenderness.

A single child, driven by an unwavering desire to survive, takes the road to the big city and goes into exile. His departure is both desertion and an act of salvation. He seeks anonymity and freedom far from the family squabbles.

The urban exodus becomes an inner cartography. The rumors of the boulevards replace the domestic hubbub, but the terrifying shadows of the cursed home linger within him.

Between shame, anger, loyalty, tenderness and the quest for freedom, these pages tell how fleeing from toxic roots can be a form of survival. Yet memory continues to inhabit those who remain silent.

But above all, this book sings of the fragile hope of an unloved child.

About the author :

Novelist, poet, short story writer and author of children’s books, Réjean Roy has written more than forty titles and is the founding president of L’arc-en-ciel littéraire.

A native of Allardville, New Brunswick, his works often have psychological or sociological implications.

In 2016, The International Network Of Women Philosophers — UNESCO ASOLAPO ITALIA — awarded him a distinction for academic, artistic, social, cultural and humanitarian achievements.