A harrowing story of sexual abuse, privilege and trauma.

It's Christmas Eve, and a young woman with Down's syndrome has just disclosed abuse by two men. The problem is she is a member of the British aristocracy and the men she accuses are a top politician and a rock star. How does a national health team struggle with the situation of alleged abuse by the elite and super rich? Despite a traitor in their midst, the team uncovers the appalling reality of the abusive international cult known as The Orpheus Project with its mysterious American spokesperson and powerful connections. This is the world of conspiracy theories; the Orpheus Project and the secret society that surrounds it seek to offer a form of immortality through deliberately installed dissociative disorders.

At the core of this powerful novel is the story of a mother and daughter who find a way of reuniting, and the longterm consequences of childhood trauma.

About the Author

Dr Valerie Sinason is a widely published poet, writer, retired child psychotherapist and adult psychoanalyst who specialised in work with abuse, abusing, disability and dissociation for four decades. She was also on the council of the British Poetry Society and a member of the women's poetry theatre group, Prodigal Daughters.

Reviews

'Valerie Sinason's The Orpheus Project is an engaging novel which is hard to put down, full of intrigue and mystery while addressing some very serious issues. The novel encompasses the secretive world of child abuse by the upper classes, trauma, dissociative identity disorder, disability, mind control and ritual abuse. The novel gives us an insight into the life of Lady Rose, rejected by her mother due to her disability..The way in which Valerie described how they eventually were able to find a closeness and union together, was very moving and beautifully told.

We also get a glimpse of what life is like for adults in care and for those working with them and how professionals deal with disclosures of abuse.Their job is in effect made harder by the way the system works when the perpetrators come from the upper classes and are well known in society.

It is evident from what is written that Valerie has a wealth of experience and knowledge of these issues and for those of us who work with survivors of child abuse, we know how difficult this can be to address and how hard it is for survivors to have a voice, to be heard, and to be believed, as too often they are dismissed.

I feel through this novel, Valerie is in effect giving a voice to survivors as although written as fiction, the sad reality is that abuse takes place by all sections of society with too often the upper classes protected when survivors disclose. Valerie has to be applauded for raising awareness of something that is too often hidden and kept underground.

I very much look forward to a sequel to this excellent captivating novel.'

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Book Information
ISBN 9781912573714
Author Valerie Sinason
Format Paperback
Page Count 328
Imprint Aeon Books Ltd
Publisher Aeon Books Ltd