Surviving Domestic Abuse

As love between gay partners Blue Sirocco and Red Hawk cools, Red becomes increasingly alcoholic. In macabre scenes realised by novelist Sam Helio, Red hits out at Blue with blows and degrading behaviour, threatening their lives. You may chill to your core when you read how Red slams a door on Blue's hand and later cuts Blue's face with a shard of glass.

Shocking? It's more frightening for Blue who is registered blind.

Blue tries to get help from social services, his doctor, the council sensory team and the police. In episodes to make you squirm, all turn him down.

After Red has a stroke, tensions between Red and Blue get even worse in 2020, the year of stop-go Covid lockdowns.

Author Sam Helio has turned his unsettling experience of abuse into a compelling novel about the perplexing dilemmas of people who experience domestic abuse. He highlights the cruel shortcomings of institutions supposed to protect us-including the courts.

If you have been abused or are close to someone who has, this daring truth-into-fiction book with its constructive advice may strengthen your resolve to break free.