Like a turtle, I hide under Mrs. Perkins's desk and put my hands over my head. My whole self shakes. I think of hide-and-seek cabinet at my home. Mrs. Perkins takes my hands off of my head. "Ethan, why are you afraid?"
"My dad I heared him in the hallway "
Mrs. Perkins says, "Ethan, there is no danger here at school. Your dad can't come here."
The principal comes to get me to the office. I sit on the love seat there, but I don't know why they call it that 'cause you sit there when you are in trouble. I've been in trouble before.
Trouble can mean more than one thing. Ethan's kindergarten year is the year that his life changed. From Ethan's perspective it just means his dad is gone for now, and at any moment the abuse might happen again. Kate is ready to face life with newfound strength. However, Ethan's brain is already wired on a hair trigger ready to lash out in anger, or seek refuge in his hide-and-seek cabinet, every minute of every day. Kate's determination to help her son is undeniable, but is it too late for Ethan?
"Burning Watercolors is a powerful, emotional insight into domestic violence and children affected by trauma, for anyone wanting to understand how women are pulled into--and trapped in--marriages defined by abuse, why children with trauma often develop disruptive anger and destructive behaviors, and what can truly heal dysfunction and bring an emotionally stable future. A must-read for anyone who works with women and children of abuse, neglect, and trauma."
-- Melissa M. Tenpas, MPH, Director of Royal Family KIDS Colorado Springs, a ministry to abused and neglected foster children
"Burning Watercolors by Jillian Laine is a deeply personal novel that reveals the impact of spousal abuse on both a mother and a 5-year-old son in the family. This author did a masterful job of writing the thoughts and feelings of the mother and the son. This might sound like a gloomy book, and parts of it are hard to read, but it's actually a story of redemption. Jillian brought not only the relationships alive, she created wonderful settings as well. I highly recommend this novel." -- Lena Nelson Dooley - multi-published, award-winning, and ECPA, CBA, and Publisher's Weekly bestseller
