Scarred
Though countless children throughout the world have been abducted by a parent and held against their will, George Molho’s story will touch even the most jaded reader. Divorce often turns children into game pieces on a strategy game board, but few pawns of domestic violence have experienced the degree of physical and psychological torture as his ominous title suggests. This exploration of a seven-year-old boy’s hell on a mountain in Greece is a candid glimpse of a family torn apart, as well as a revealing look at desperate father’s misguided attempt to control his son in a secluded environment far removed from Molho’s accepted home in Texas where he lived with his mother.
Molho was inspired by a resilient Jewish grandfather and a Christian grandmother, both of them attached to the Greek underground and survivors of Nazi imprisonment. This detailed memoir is more than a graphic account of a dirty cellar, the implements of restraint, and the scars these bonds left behind. The trauma of his horrific encounters in Greece follows him into adulthood, influencing his relationships and disrupting his inner peace. The book moves through time, alternating past with present, juxtaposing abusive scenes with his father and recent events with family and friends. Though at first Scarred reads like a work of fiction, the tone quickly changes to one of genuine disclosure and intellectual discussion. Written with dramatic flair, Molho’s in-depth study of self and the sincere meaning of life deserve a high mark for composition and intriguing presentation. Articulate and descriptive, his words flow like the effortless prose of a seasoned literary craftsman. His is a story of discovery and rebirth, or, in twenty-first-century lingo, the author has reinvented himself without lingering on or sensationalizing the brutal elements of his youth. The following passage offers conclusive proof that he retained his ability to appreciate joyful, contemplative moments while away from his lover:
I spent the first weeks of our separation fantasizing about each time we passionately collided. I replayed the montages of heat, sweat, and moans in my head, reliving those images over and over. The secrets I only knew: the curve of her back, the small, inconspicuous dimples that only a lover can brush against, and the spontaneous giggle evoked by my five o’clock shadow brushing against her inner thigh. I smelled the rose hips, jojoba, and mountain spring water in her shampoo as she arched above me and her hair played against my chest like Medusa.
Born in Galveston, George Molho resides in Houston, where he grew up. For fifteen years he worked as a medical consultant, and today he is a recognized public speaker on child abduction. This award-winning author has created a promising literary career on his path to healing and self-awareness.
Reviewed by
Julia Ann Charpentier
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
