GOODBYE PINK ROOM
By Jane Grayshon
CCPAS. 222 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 1 907 438 011
Rose feels safe in her ‘Pink Room’. Longing to be grown up and anxious to please, she dreads what will happen when she leaves it, and recoils from guilt and fear when she returns, alone with her questions and further damaged by a trusted adult.
As adults we see that Rose is being trapped by an evil man, and is trying to interpret all she experiences. In retelling her story as an adult, she reveals that self-doubt and guilt invade her heart and mind as she searches for God’s answers to her shame.
Her secret world is heartbreaking to enter, and the story is skilfully told at each point in age-relevant language, providing a disturbingly clear insight into the ‘black and white’ thinking of a child. She cannot understand the cruelty we know she should have been protected from, neither can she ask for help from those who care for her for fear of condemnation or accusation.
This book will have a significant impact on all who read it, whether they have borne the same abuse, or are working to help those who have been damaged. It serves as a challenge to all parents to ensure they make time to listen to their children without being dismissive of what they hear.
Linda Mawson,
Trinity Baptist Church, Tenterden, Kent
