Hiding in her bedroom, coiled into a tightly formed ball against the wall, has become standard practice for 15-year-old Cathy Mugan. The young girl, who suffers abhorrent abuse at the hands of her deranged mother, Adele, cocoons herself in a world of fantasy, choosing daydreams over fighting back – at least at first. In Maureen Lennon’s A Place Apart we are introduced to the horrific realm of emotional, physical, and verbal abuse that tears families apart, in this case quite literally.

Despite the heavy topic, Lennon’s writing deserves nothing but high praise. She has a gift for descriptive prose, evoking a sense of presence, immediacy, and emotion. Between Adele’s sinister imaginary relationship with the American president, Cathy’s consulting of magazine cover girls for emotional support, and older sibling Richard’s violent outbursts (like when he pins his mother against a wall and threatens her with the same yardstick she uses to beat her daughter to a pulp), there is much to inhale.

Lennon’s depiction of mother and daughter as captor and prey is terrifyingly vivid. She describes Cathy slouching, avoiding eye contact, peeing her pants, and even dissociating in school. And she paints Adele as a large, unattractive animal, spitting frequently, heaving and sighing, and constantly threatening attack.

Cathy’s family members also all carry out important plot functions. Her brother Richard plays the “fight” role in the “fight or flight” response to the family abuse. His fiery reactions counter Cathy’s passivity beautifully, emphasizing her introverted qualities and involvement in a fantastical world all her own. Cathy’s father, Gerald, with his slouching, cowering, and constantly leaving the house, is the ostrich of the group who cannot bear to face what’s really going on. He eloquently personifies denial.

While disturbing in so many ways, the novel ultimately carries a positive message, providing glimpses of hope for self-actualization by exploring what it means to seize back power over oneself and one’s environment. The book is a must-read for adults and older teenagers who understand the complexities of self-love and what happens when it gets lost.