Date Published: February 21, 2021
Publisher: Flower Press
Deborah Clark Vance's first novel, Sylvie Denied, offers an intimate portrait of a woman who refuses to be silenced.
As she enters adulthood in the turbulent 1970s, Sylvie thinks the way to change a violent world is to become a peaceful person. Yet she slowly sees how a childhood trauma thwarts her peaceful intentions and leads her to men with a dark side – including Enzo, the man she marries. Even as his behavior becomes increasingly volatile, she believes she can make things better with love and understanding. But finally, living in terror, Sylvie must find a way to escape with her daughter and claim her place in the world.
Praise for Sylvie Denied
"Women’s fiction and literature readers will find Sylvie Denied a hard-hitting, familiar-feeling story of growth and new directions."– Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review
"Sylvie is a resilient free spirit open to the world but struggling to find a lasting relationship worthy of her decency and altruism. Rich in emotional and geographic detail, it is genuinely rewarding to read." — Jonathan Slade, Producer of 8 Emmy-winning documentaries including “The Electric Road Trip,”
"In Sylvie Denied, Deborah Clark Vance gives a riveting picture of the sixties and seventies, as her strong-willed heroine searches for a meaningful life." -Madeena Spray Nolan, author of “The Gift” and “The Burning Ground.”
About The Author
After leaving her family home and respectable birthplace, Deborah Clark Vance set out to find what made the world tick. Inspired by Thoreau’s advice to simplify, she explored self-sufficient living. Deborah learned to identify and forage for edible plants and medicinal herbs, gaining confidence that she could survive in the wild as long as there were woods, and the weather wasn’t too cold. She attended the University of Life where she came to cherish those who prefer truth. She raised four children and cobbled together a living by selling paintings and freelance articles, copyediting and translating Italian, selling plants and designing gardens, working on radio documentaries and a kids’ educational TV series, teaching piano lessons, college students and adults with emotional and mental illnesses. . . and eventually earned a PhD in Intercultural Communication from Howard University and taught at a small liberal arts college. Her family and friends near and far live with her in her heart. Sylvie Denied is her first novel.
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