Prisoners of Silence

Set in 1950s Ballarat and Melbourne, this narrative is loosely based on characters and real events in the author's life. It follows the challenges of Molly, a talented, but nave teenager struggling to find her own path.Interspersed with humour and music, the harrowing subjugation and abuse of girls in a church-dominated society is clearly manifest in this story of sexual assault, resultant pregnancy and forced adoption. Significant others in Molly's life have their own stories interwoven with hers: a schoolfriend, the priest responsible for the assault, and the nun, her teacher and confidante, who leaves the convent no longer able to cope with the rampant hypocrisy and control.To 17-year-old Molly, whisked away to a hospital where priests' offspring are illegally adopted, everyone seems to have deserted her.