Cycle of abuse

What would you do if the perfect life you built was threatened by the very past you wanted to run away from? Would you succumb to it or fight back to protect it? Chelsea Bieker’s Madwoman is the story of Clove, who is faced with this exact question.

After spending years and thousands of dollars on organic smoothies and supplements, Clove has built the perfect dream life. Her thousands of Instagram followers see her perfectly curated life with her kind, reliable husband, her adorable kids, and a nice family home. To her followers, Clove has it all. But one day a letter arrives from a women’s prison in California, and it threatens to expose Clove’s past and her dark secrets, which she has desperately tried to hide. No matter how much she ignores it, Clove can no longer run from her own abusive childhood and must confront the day that defined her life forever.

Even though the premise promises a thrilling ride, the story on the whole is about violence. It tells you what it’s like to grow up in a family where abuse sits at the head of the table. We see Clove’s childhood and how her parents’ toxic relationship shaped her psyche and ambitions. Chelsea Bieker expertly peels off layers of Clove’s and her parents’ relationships to expose the deep-rooted violence that bonds them for life.

Domestic violence is a topic often explored in media and seldom does a work of art do it with the tenderness that it requires. Establishing the right perspective becomes absolutely necessary. Chelsea Bieker does that right on the first page.