CHITTENANGO, N.Y., May 16, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- To some people the challenges of life can be very overwhelming, especially when tragedy strikes their family and forces them to make sacrifices. In the heart of society, survival, and maintaining your status are priorities. But just how far are troubled people willing to go when their survival requires a lot of sacrifice? The answers are emphasized by author Donald F. Megnin as Xlibris proudly releases his compelling new book about society, family, and post-war trauma, The Security of Silence.
The Security of Silence introduces to readers Emilie Elizabeth Louise Bartholomae, a lady who was born in a small village in Germany. Her childhood was idyllic until one day, the tragic death of her father shocks her family and changes their privilege and economic security into uncertainty. After World War I destroyed their economy, Emilie begins to feel uncertain and insecure about her future and that of her family. Against the protests of her mother, Emilie marries a man much older than she, believing that her family's future will be secure at last. But even before the wedding, her mother felt uneasy with the man's history; Emilie would discover only later of her husband's sexual predilection.
Despite her husband's lust and authoritarian ways, Emilie remains silent and ignores the reality of his behavior, which she thought was the result of a wound from the war. Thanks to her husband's success in business, Emilie and her family are blessed with prosperity and security, and along the way she accepts whatever her husband decides and seems to support his unsavory behavior. Has Emilie truly lost herself to security in chains? Or will there be a brighter future for her, her marriage, and her family.
The Security of Silence depicts the willingness of the protagonist to completely subordinate herself to her older husband's wishes, which reflects the psychological impact of the early death of her father. As a result, Emilie sacrifices her own individuality and independence in return for maintaining her family's social status and survival. At the same time, the story illustrates mankind's rationalization and desire to deliberately turn a blind eye on reality. Megnin's book will interest a wide audience of readers, especially historians, psychologists, cultural enthusiasts, women, and people who wish to gain insight into the formative influences which subconsciously last a lifetime. The Security of Silence is now available for your reading pleasures online at Xlibris.com and at major bookstores and libraries nationwide! This book will touch your heart.
About the Author
Donald F. Megnin, son of immigrants from Germany, grew up on a farm near Chittenango, New York. He graduated from Fayetteville High School, Syracuse University, where he received his A.B., M.A., and Ph. D. and Boston University with an S.T.B. He worked on the family for several years before being given a scholarship by a Syracuse industrialist to study at Syracuse University. He represented Syracuse University as a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, for two years. He then went on to study theology at Boston University. While serving as a United Methodist minister in Syracuse, New York, he began his graduate studies in international politics in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. After completing his doctorate in political science, he taught at Slippery Rock University (one of fourteen state-owned universities of Pennsylvania). He is currently a professor emeritus of international politics from Slippery Rock University and divides his time between New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where he and his wife reside, and Syracuse, New York, where they spend their summers.
The Security of Silence * by Donald F. Megnin
Trade Paperback; $21.99; 217 pages; 1-4134-7460-8 * Cloth Hardback;
$31.99; 217 pages; 1-4134-7461-6
To request a complimentary paperback review copy, contact the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 472. Tearsheets may be sent by regular or electronic mail to Christie Conales. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x.876.