Confronting the pain within

Gulf Weekly

21-02-2025

YOUNG adult fiction novel I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant is out on shelves.
Taking place in the quiet Fish Creek, Wisconsin, 19-year-old Elisabeth has the only thing she needs: isolation, as she is determined to be alone and hiding from her own memories, making sure no one can hurt her.
However, everything changes when a massive storm strikes, forcing her to accept help from her neighbour Noah, the town's sheriff, and showing more vulnerability than she intended, resulting in her realising she can no longer outrun the scars of her childhood.
Focusing on the theme of trauma and healing, the story takes inspiration from Allison's personal journey as a young woman who had to confront her medical trauma.
'When I was 11, I underwent a complex procedure to correct a discrepancy in the length of my legs. Surgeons spent 13 hours drilling through my bones and attaching an external metal frame from my hip to my toe,' Allison wrote in an article.
'Before the surgery, when I asked if it would hurt, the only thing I remember being told was 'Don't worry, we have ways to manage any unpleasantness'. The difference between what I was told and what I experienced shattered my faith in doctors and left me questioning whether I could trust adults at all.
'Now, as a parent, and through my years working in health care, I've made the conscious decision never to lie to people about pain. Even with something as small as a routine vaccination, yes, I say, it may hurt,' she added.