Latest news with #IAmtheCage
Gulf Weekly
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Weekly
Confronting the pain within
YOUNG adult fiction novel I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant is out on shelves. Taking place in the quiet Fish Creek, Wisconsin, 19-year-old Elisabeth has the only thing she needs: isolation, as she is determined to be alone and hiding from her own memories, making sure no one can hurt her. However, everything changes when a massive storm strikes, forcing her to accept help from her neighbour Noah, the town's sheriff, and showing more vulnerability than she intended, resulting in her realising she can no longer outrun the scars of her childhood. Focusing on the theme of trauma and healing, the story takes inspiration from Allison's personal journey as a young woman who had to confront her medical trauma. 'When I was 11, I underwent a complex procedure to correct a discrepancy in the length of my legs. Surgeons spent 13 hours drilling through my bones and attaching an external metal frame from my hip to my toe,' Allison wrote in an article. 'Before the surgery, when I asked if it would hurt, the only thing I remember being told was 'Don't worry, we have ways to manage any unpleasantness'. The difference between what I was told and what I experienced shattered my faith in doctors and left me questioning whether I could trust adults at all. 'Now, as a parent, and through my years working in health care, I've made the conscious decision never to lie to people about pain. Even with something as small as a routine vaccination, yes, I say, it may hurt,' she added.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'I Am the Cage' focuses on healing after medical trauma
Author Allison Sweet Grant joins Morning Joe to discuss her debut YA novel 'I Am the Cage,' which draws on her from her own childhood experiences in the medical system.
Associated Press
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Book Review: Sweet Grant's young adult debut ‘I Am the Cage' gives resounding voice to the voiceless
We're taught from earliest childhood that doctors are trustworthy healers, so there's a special sense of betrayal when they inflict pain. Young adult debut novel 'I Am the Cage' by Allison Sweet Grant — author of two picture books — tells of the crimes committed against Elisabeth's body and psyche by the medical community, and by those who stood by while it happened. But it also tells of survival, grace and self-discovery. Elisabeth's past is nothing short of agonizing. It's only slowly, through panic attacks and flashbacks, that we learn what it takes to regain a sense of self and purpose after surviving trauma. Readers must take the passenger seat and yield to the protagonist's pace as Elisabeth reveals her scars and the stories behind them. When a snowstorm bears down on the quiet little Wisconsin town Elisabeth has run away to, cutting the power and straining her meager supplies, the agoraphobic young woman finally allows herself to do the forbidden: Ask for help. Her handsome neighbor Noah is quick to answer the call. But this isn't your typical tale where the girl who's been hurt falls in love with a guy who 'fixes' her, or shows her how to love again. Although it's mainly set in 1999, Sweet Grant takes a more modern approach by keeping Noah strictly as a support character. Told in present-tense first person, readers must keep their attention on Elisabeth. It's a fittingly singular spotlight to shine for two reasons: It reflects the main character's extreme isolation, and it gives a resounding voice to the voiceless. The story itself acts as a step toward righting the injustices that Elisabeth faced — and many readers will resonate with — in not being heard by cold, busy, or otherwise inattentive medical professionals. In contrast with the heavy subject matter, the writing is simple and easy to digest. In between the occasional poems, the narration is heavy on similes, metaphors, and understatedly dazzling descriptions. Sweet Grant writes in enough hope and happiness to make Elisabeth's plight bearable, while slowly building up her past to give the ending the weight it deserves. Still, don't expect flowers and rainbows. There are some magical moments, but 'I Am the Cage' is steadfastly tethered to the harsh reality of our painful, beautiful world. ___
