The Cruel Silence Reviews

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This book of poems is a must read for any woman who has been forced to stay in a destructive relationship. It is about the strength of the human spirit despite cruelty, betrayal, and lack of love. Ms. Bidgoli writes about her despair turned into hope, and the retrieval of joy. It is also for all who have had good fortune and want to acknowledge and encourage all who have not. We can recognize and befriend those buried in silence, releasing them from their solitary confinement. Our witness and presence is important. Until each of us breaks the silence and disowns shame, none of us is truly whole.
Here are two quotes from these poems:
“I am breathing into my freedom,
Wishing the same free air
For all the other covered souls.” from “Cover”
and,
“My voice is loud
Breaking the walls
Around abused souls.” from “Finding Myself”
by Bonnie Neumann via Amazon.com

What a beautifully written collection. Fae Bidgoli takes you on a journey that is so touching. She captures the life of an abused wife with simple honesty. Her poems crack the door that keeps the secrets of arranged marriage and abuse locked away from discussion and awareness in society. Thank you, Fae Bidgoli for writing something that every women can connect to- the desire for freedom in a world where many of us have had lost or given away our power. Whether you have been through similar experiences as Bidgoli, or have grown up in a world where marriage was a choice, I believe all women can relate to these beautiful, raw, and heartfelt poems.
by Erin DiAngelis via Amazon.com

These are beautifully written, accessible, poems that describe a woman’s long journey from naive, young bride in an abusive marriage, to mature woman who has freed herself from that marriage and grown psychologically and spiritually. I read it in one sitting. The tone is one of love, persistence, and determination. The author writes straight from the heart about these experiences and I resonated to each poem. You don’t have to have been in an abusive relationship to relate – the story is one of a long, arduous journey that a brave woman persisted in – which finally brought her to a place of forgiveness and self-acceptance – and that is the story of many peoples’ lives. It is a book of poems that could inspire and give heart to others in their own journey.
by JeanInOakland via Amazon.com

The poems in this book tells a heartfelt journey of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage and finds her own way towards freedom – from the abusive marriage as well as from her own heartache. Fae writes timelessly, gracefully and movingly. I found myself teary eyed as I read this book. The poems struck a deep cord within me.

Here’s one of my favorite excerpt:
“I hear
Butterflies flapping
Their wings
in my garden

In this silence
I see rays of sunshine
even in the darkest of night.” Beautiful.
by lovetogarden via Amazon.com

I read The Cruel Silence straight through, without stopping. This is a painful and deeply moving portrait of a young woman who is caught in a horribly abusive marriage which is supported by her family and her culture. She drowns in shame, losing all desire to live. In short poignant poems, Fae Bidgoli describes the tragic splitting off of the child, the soul buried, the terrible ache, and the slow dying. She eventually finds the courage to dig out from the lie of the marriage. She removes the mask, and is — finally — even able to forgive.
Lily Tomlin once defined forgiveness as giving up all hope for a better past. In these poems I experience that profound process.
I imagine this book in the hands of young, and not so young, women who are suffering in abusive marriages, and I FEEL the hope it gives them.
by Anne via Amazon.com