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How to Heal Scars
by Rowen Sivertsen
About the books:
This is the first non-science-fiction series from the author of “Songs of the Zhongzi” the sci-fi multimedia series.
In these book she makes use of her professional experience in running school mediation and conflict management programmes for young adults.
The books follow three young people, each of them, for very different reasons, scarred and traumatised by the life they led before they came to the Turnabout Farm, a project run by the Friends to give teenagers like themselves the training and the confidence to build themselves a new life.
Together, they slowly build the lives they dreamt of, but it is not an easy process. Their pasts continue to visit them in strange and disruptive ways.
How to Heal Scars, Book 1
Jen, Rick and JJ meet as 17-year-olds at a Turnabout Farm. They are all, for very different reasons, deeply scarred both mentally and physically by their previous lives. At the farm, they learn to recognise and tackle the aftermaths of their own and each other’s traumas. Together, in defiance of the prejudices that surround them, they build a thriving but unorthodox community in an ancient and crumbling building. They create a life full of adventure and challenges, supporting each other as they build their separate careers and work towards the fulfilment of their dreams.
But their success is continuously threatened by the repercussions of their earlier lives. When they try to reach out to Rick’s dysfunctional family the result is catastrophic, and when Rick’s father manages to trace his son, and threatens to destroy everything they have built, Jen has to take desperate measures that conflict with the moral convictions of her closest friends and the family she has created around her — measures that have horrific and far-reaching consequences.
How to Heal Scars, Book 2
Jen, Rick and transgender JJ have survived from their teenage years by invading each other’s spaces, dragging each other’s shadows into the light, crashing each other’s barriers and standing between each other and red flags. "Not the usual run-of-the-mill friendship," as Rick says, but a friendship that allowed each of them to overcome the traumas of their childhoods, and create a full life. Against all odds, they have built a strong, caring and enduring community, taking in "turnabout" teenagers from backgrounds of abuse, incest and gender confusion, similar to their own origins.
But the scars from their past are still present and continue to haunt them. They strive to give their children a nurturing environment in the face of their own traumas and the prejudice of others, and they win the hearts and minds of many along their way. The core of their friendship is challenged when a new “dark angel” (their name for psychopaths) enters their lives. They are faced with murder and betrayal. Help comes from unexpected places, and once again they must stand together to forge a new path to survival.
Songs of the Zhongzi: The Books
About the books:When one hundred small creatures, each a little shining jewel, individually crafted with respect and love, find their way through the hatch to life in the sulphur-sweet air of their own wild planet, they start on a wonderful journey that parallels the rise of human civilisation. Against a fantastically beautiful back- drop, the zhongzi develope colourful personalities. They learn how to ride the geysers, harness the winds and interact with the weird and delightful endemic life forms. They create cultures and communities radically different from anything known by their human creators. But confronted by ideological challenges and divided into radically different societies, their actions have drastic and far-reaching consequences.
These books are part of a multimedia project. At the root of the zhongzi society lie their songs, depicting decisive moments in their development. Therefore, the Songs of the Zhongzi Videos were an inevitable development. Along the way pictures were created for the videos - most of which were created out of collages of microscopic images. Many were never used in the videos, but can found in the the Songs of the Zhongzi Galleries.
Read more about the books, the vidoes and the world of the Zhongzi here, together with reviews and other relevant information.
Songs of the Zhongzi (book 1)
Humans have set out to create the perfect life... intelligence without a dark side. The wild planet of Shianshenka poisonous to humans, but breathtakingly beautiful is selected and seeded with the newly created life-form: the tiny seed-like Zhongzi. This tale tells how the little Zhongzi overcome the limitations placed on them by their physiology; how they learn to ride the geysers and harness the winds; how they interact with the weird and delightful endemic life forms of the planet; how they create community, culture and civilisation. But not all is perfect. A deep ideological cleft divides the Zhongzi society into radically different societies, and as the conflict escalates their actions have drastic and far-reaching consequences.
Island of Rainbows (book 2)
Escaping from slavery in the dark Eastern Caverns, the Siren folk are carried by a storm far out over the ocean. What follows for some, is a magical journey in a deep-running ocean spiral. For others the storm results in a meeting with the enchanting gossamer globes— wise deep-sea creatures, that become their mentors and protectors. Both groups end up on the shores of the wonderful Island of Rainbows. But the curse of the Homeland has not left them. Along the way, some have aquired a religion that becomes dangerously fanatical, both in its expression and its logic. Recognising that failure to deal with this will destroy the fabric of their society, they turn to the globes for advice. The answer, it seems, lies back on the Homeland, and the strange mysteries that now surround it
Island of Fire (book 3)
A small flock of refugees from the dying Homeland arrive on the Island of Fire, and must create new lives. Although the island’s environment seems hostile, it is home to fantastic and beautiful lifeforms and ecosystems they have never met before. They find places where they could happily settle. But the island is already inhabited by the Vulkans – zhongzi who ride above the volcanoes, and who have lived on the island since ancient times. The Vulkans, fearing that the newcomers are the first of a wave of refugees from the Homeland, are divided in their reactions. Ancient conflicts surface, and the newcomers find themselves caught up in the machinations of the Vulkans. But with their colourful diversity of talents and callings the newcomers fight their battles in their own unique way, and slowly bring far-reaching changes to the Vulkan society.
A small flock of refugees from the dying Homeland arrive on the Island of Fire, and must create new lives. Although the island’s environment seems hostile, it is home to fantastic and beautiful lifeforms and ecosystems they have never met before. They find places where they could happily settle. But the island is already inhabited by the Vulkans – zhongzi who ride above the volcanoes, and who have lived on the island since ancient times. The Vulkans, fearing that the newcomers are the first of a wave of refugees from the Homeland, are divided in their reactions. Ancient conflicts surface, and the newcomers find themselves caught up in the machinations of the Vulkans. But with their colourful diversity of talents and callings the newcomers fight their battles in their own unique way, and slowly bring far-reaching changes to the Vulkan society.