Author:  Ron Knight

ISNB: 13: 9781477536636

Publisher: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform

With so much already published on the topic of sexual and emotional abuse of girls, I was skeptical of just how well Vindicating Vicky would hold my interest. I was also intrigued by the idea that a male author would attempt such an endeavor. Unlike many before him, author Ron Knight does a superb job depicting the thoughts and emotions that frequently dictate the self defeating behavior of many female survivors of sexual abuse.

Living in a dingy tenement with an alcoholic mother and somewhat questionable step-father, Vicky is forced to pass by the scene of a childhood nightmare on a daily basis. She cannot escape the memories of the evilness that once lived there. These are memories that will stay with her for a long time to come and will motivate her to behave in ways that take her further into a very dark world.

Like many her age, Vicky wants better for herself but soon realizes that poverty and a limited education won’t get her very far. The one thing Vicky does have is her looks. From early on, she’s known that men consider her highly desirable. Blessed with a beautiful face and a curvaceous figure, it isn’t long before Vicky decides to put those assets to work. It is here at this point in the story that the reader begins to realize the extent of the emotional damage this young woman is dealing with.

This book could have easily fallen flat had the author not taken care to provide the reader with insight into the thought process behind the central character’s behaviors. It would be easy for the reader to deduce that Vicky is a survivor of abuse. What the reader cannot know on their own is the depth of the confusion, self loathing, and sense of worthlessness that are typical to many survivors. Knight’s treatment of the central character not only elicits sympathy it also makes her real. Vicky is not a one dimensional character. She makes questionable choices but wrestles with the emotional consequences. She wants a better life but is stymied by mistakes of the past. She is both vulnerable and hard core. In other words, she is human.

Through all of the emotional turmoil, meaningless sex, and self abuse, Vicky does have one constant anchor, her friend, Stan. Stan seems to be the one individual in Vicky’s life with a genuine interest in her well being. Stan’s belief in Vicky’s inherent goodness never waivers as the two try to make sense of Vicky’s (at times) outlandish behavior. On the surface, the character of Stan is a bit unbelievable. I found it difficult to accept a single adult male engaging in a purely platonic relationship with a sexually available beautiful young woman without him ever making any advances. The only explanation for Stan is that he is a guardian angel in human form. Without him, the author would have had no other choice than to end the story on a predictable note.

With plot turns that the reader won’t see coming, Vicky will be forced to come to terms with her past and with the fallout of some mistakes made in the present. Face with an opportunity to reinvent herself, Vicky must lay waste to those people and situations that would keep her in a life of degradation.

With Stan’s help and the support of a rekindled love, Vicky will find the courage and the strength to build her life anew and finally put the past behind her.

Vicky is a character that the reader will have both sympathy and disgust for. While it is not hard to understand her motives, those who have no experience in dealing with this subject matter might think of Vicky as a broken person destined to wind up dead or in jail. That is (after all) the usual fate of most young women who enter the world of drugs, nude dancing, and prostitution. Knight’s depiction of this world is spot on and may have some readers thinking twice about what’s really behind the seductive smiles of many of the women who work in that trade.

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