Tin Can is a story about a woman who has suffered from marital domestic abuse. She is practically destroyed--completely under his control until his abuse opens the door for a simple tin can.
Tin Can is a story about a woman who has suffered from marital domestic abuse. She is practically destroyed--completely under his control until his abuse opens the door for a simple tin can.
The tin can is one of the most vulnerable objects in the world. It is used, cut, kicked, stomped and recycled to be used and used again. Very much like I was. The metaphor of the can is that it can become a positive icon. I used it to seedle plants. And as the plants grew roots and began to grow; becoming strong, leafy and beautiful, so did my life. God showed me the meaning of "the battle is not yours". He will win if you give it to him, no matter what the problem is. He'll win, even if he has to use a can to do it.
Excerpt
I
THE BEGINNING OF MY END
What should have been a beautiful Fall day in Boston, MA had turned into one of the darkest days of my life. November 12, 1978 is a date of seared torture carved indelibly in my brain. It’s stenciled forever in the dark pupils of my eyes where it repeats itself in detailed nightmares even when I’m wide awake.
“I HATE YOU, YOU BLACK BASTARD! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!” Pounding my fist on the glass pane, I wished I could have grown arms long enough to reach James and his whore in that car. I’d show them what hurt really feels like.
Through a painfully closing eye I peered out of the window into the overcast evening. The tires screeched as that mad dog, James, floored the gas pedal. He was speeding to get away from me. He had to hate me more than anything in the world to do what he did to me. I felt the same way about him. I didn’t know whether to be happy that he was finally gone or sad at the decline of a doomed-from-the-start marriage. I’d sacrificed the best years of my life along with my self-respect, all to save something that never should have been, something that just wasn’t meant to be. I strongly despised James. I hated him more at that moment than I’d ever detested anyone in the 27 years of my life. Trying to close my eyes tight, I whispered, “Car, turn over, let that son of a bitch lose control. Slam! Slam into anything and burn--let him and that home wrecker crash and die. Because they want to be together so bad let them both go to hell right now.”
Professional Reviews
Tin Can = Heart-Wrenching
This heart-wrenching realistic portrait of physical, emotional, and mentally abuse grabs the reader at the onset traveling through the life experiences of an average black woman who connects with a vast majority of women all over the world who has encountered domestic violence. Beware! Once you start you cannot put the novel down.
Akeda Stenbar
Tin Can - Excellent Example
I invite you all to share in this emotional experience for your education or for the awareness of struggles that may be similar to yours or someone you know. She is a GREAT Author and an EXCELLENT example of WOMEN trapped in DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. She is no longer a victim, and shares her message of survival in this courageous new novel, TIN CAN.
Malcolm B. Smith
Brooklyn, NY
