‘No fiction to hide behind’ says Ross-shire author LG Thomson speaking out on childhood sexual abuse on publication of hotly tipped new novel Modernist Dreams Brutalist Nightmares
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AN author who was abused by a man who visited her childhood home at Christmas hopes that finally sharing her experience could help others.
Ullapool-based LG Thomson says there is “no fiction to hide behind” in a new memoir charting her childhood experiences growing up in the 1970s in Cumbernauld, one of Scotland’s so-called new towns.
Her searingly honest coming-of-age story Modernist Dreams Brutalist Nightmares has already created a buzz ahead of a local launch this week.
And while the traumatic experience forms part of the book, her straight-talking memoir has also been described as laugh out loud funny in its recollection of growing up in the '70s.
Thomson, sci-fi and thriller author of Boyle’s Law and Erosion, said of her new work: “There’s no fiction to hide behind. I believe shining a bright light on dark corners is a good thing to do and I suppose that’s what this book is.”
She said: “I first started trying to write about it 10 years ago. But it never worked. The first time round it didn’t work because I tried to ignore all of the abuse. Then I tried putting it all into one chapter, and said, ‘I’m not mentioning these people again’, but that didn’t work either.
“Because the truth was, they had infiltrated everything. The man that abused me came to our house for Christmas for 16 years. I realised I had to face up to it.The first draft of the book was 100,000 words of screaming rage, just anger. I got that out of my system and then I took a step back. I’d done the emotional thing, the crying, the gnashing of teeth, and then it became about the writing.”
Her story takes us back to a time when belting children was legal. She said there was such a demand for the tawse – a leather strap used for punishing children – that it was industrialised in Scotland.
Thomson will be hosting a launch night and book signing on December 2 with Bridge House Art tutor Eleanor White at the Ceilidh Place, Ullapool. Tickets for the 16+ event can be bought on the night or in advance from the Ceilidh Place bookshop.
Modernist Dreams Brutalist Nightmares, published by Outcast Press, has already reached the No.1 spot on a variety of Amazon charts.Outcast Press, who specialise in transgressive fiction, are going to focus on book sales in the US.
Thomson said: “They have told me the pre-sales numbers are amazing, especially for independent press. But it’s not all about the sales for me, it’s about the writing and that process, anything else is just a cherry on the cake.”
She said: “I hope that if someone was to read the book, it could give them the courage to speak up. It screws you up so much, it seems to take such a long time to come out about it, and face up to it.
“For years I blamed myself; for what an adult man did to me when I was seven years old. People ask ‘why didn’t you speak out?’ well I was a little kid, that’s why.”
Sandy Brindley, chief executive for sexual violence charity Rape Crisis Scotland, said:“Talking about sexual violence and abuse can be incredibly difficult. Many survivors don’t disclose their experience of sexual violence for months, years or decades, and some survivors never make that disclosure.
“No matter how long ago abuse or sexual violence happened, our helpline is there for people who have been affected by sexual violence, whenever they’re ready to talk.
“Our trained support workers are available every evening from 5pm until midnight.”
Rape Crisis Scotland can be contacted on their caller helpline on 08088 010302 or texted on 07537 410 027.
Thomson’s book, described as searingly honest and brutally funny, can be bought locally at the Ceilidh Place bookshop and FISK Gallery in Coigach via any bookshop or online.
