The Space Within the Silence

Tess thought that going away to college would mean she could finally be free from her shattered childhood. That she wouldn’t have to see Ian anymore, the step-brother who sexually abused her. That she could keep space between herself and her mother, who Tess told about the abuse and who didn’t believe her. That she could finally build a life that she felt safe in.

For a few years, that was true. But during winter break of her junior year, Tess’ mom invites Ian to spend the holidays with them, and all of the trauma and betrayal of her childhood is brought up again.

Tess just wants to make it through the next few weeks and to return home to her friends. If Tess has learned anything in her twenty-one years, it’s that life rarely turns out the way she wants.

Humorous, heartbreaking, and hopeful, The Space Within the Silence is a story about about finding the places where we feel loved and about one person’s determination to choose her own life.

Bre Woods is an author with too much to say and not enough minutes in the day to say it all. The Space Within the Silence is her first novel.