Fiona Moss / 30 October 2024 / Categories: Books, Biography, Other Books

Breaking The Silence

A collection of stories from survivors of sexual abuse by Perry Power

How important it is for us to share the things that touch us, inspire us.

I have recently come across Wayne Scot Lukas a celebrity stylist born and raised in New Jersey.

He was the host of American TV show “what not to wear” and I have found myself interested in him and his point of view more and more over the last few weeks. @waynescotlukastyle

He introduced me to this book, I haven’t read it yet, I have it on my holiday list.

It was the authors story, a message shot, “Love Actually” style but with a much darker message, one of sexual abuse and how being unable to discuss things with his father had led to severe depression and suicidal thoughts. The flash cards, like yellow postik notes went on to say his father, an alcoholic, died in 2017 and he later discovered he too had been abused. His father had lived in silence and died in silence.

Even though Perry had been unable to speak to his father about this he decided to make his purpose giving other survivors of abuse the opportunity through his book and publishing company to share their stories and in doing so heal their trauma. The result of that work is Breaking The Silence. (For

me it translates to breaking the pattern, something I have had to do more than once (as have many) in my own life.

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It reminded me of a story definitely not so heart rending for sure my grandmother told me when I was very young about her. I now know the wisdom in the story. At the time I am sure I didn’t really get it yet it stayed with me.

She told me how every Christmas she had watched her mother cut one leg off the turkey before she put it in the oven. Not understanding why, one year she decided to ask her mother why she did that.

Her mother, my great grandmother told her she wasn’t sure, her mother had done it and she had just always followed her, without question. So my grandmother and great grand mother turned to my great great grandmother and asked her why she had always cut one leg off the turkey before putting it in the oven.

“Oh that’s an easy one she said, I didn’t have a pan large enough for the whole bird”

I am looking forward to reading Breaking the Silence and I hope by sharing my own anecdote from my own childhood it helps Perry and in turn the people he has helped endure.