<DIV>A novel about memory, time, and the struggle to break away from a vicious family cycle of abuse, this story of Carmel, a girl from a working-class family on the beachside of Adelaide, begins with her innocent childhood and tells the story of her descent into a harsh adulthood in Tasmania. As the text weaves back and forth in time and subjects to reveal the abuse that Carmel's father inflicted on her mother, she comes to realize that the same pattern of abuse exists in her own marriage. Through an array of vivid experiences, this story tells of one woman's path that helped her break the cycle and escape from domestic violence.<br></div>