Roisin O’Donnell
Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell is an intense, gripping tale about a woman extricating herself from an abusive relationship with her husband, Ryan. Ciara, a mother of two young daughters and with a baby on the way, decides she has had enough of her husband’s threatening behavior and emotional and psychological abuse. She packs a few items, bundles her daughters into the car, and takes off. With nowhere to sleep on their first night, they huddle together in the car.
Ciara sets off the next day, desperate to find housing for herself and her children. But that is quite a challenge since Ireland is facing a serious housing shortage. Eventually, she finds temporary accommodation in a hotel where she befriends others in a similar situation. She begins her search to find permanent housing. Navigating the housing system proves to be a nightmare. She endures cramped waiting rooms, fills out endless forms, and makes desperate phone calls to check on housing availability. She resuscitates her teaching degree and finds employment as a teacher. With support from her sister, mother, and newly-made friends, Ciara eventually succeeds in extricating herself from her abusive relationship and situates herself in a permanent home with her daughters and infant son.
O’Donnell’s portrayal of Ryan as the abusive husband is text-book authentic. He can be charming and solicitous one minute and angry and emotionally abusive the next. He controls the family finances so Ciara is totally dependent on him financially. He manipulates Ciara, is brutal and cutting in his language. He taunts her, demeans her, isolates her from her friends, and tries to isolate her from her mother and sister.
The narrative moves at a dizzying speed in fragmented, short, choppy sentences. These create a breathless quality, mirroring Ciara’s frantic pace as she struggles to find housing, meet with a solicitor, and appear in court while juggling to feed and clothe her three young children. Meanwhile, she is tormented by Ryan’s continuous pleas to come home with claims he loves her. His love refrain alternates with abusive, derogatory language, and vicious verbal attacks.
Through Ciara’s interiority and flashbacks of her married life, O’Donnell brilliantly captures the paralyzing fear experienced by those living in abusive relationships. Ciara lived in constant fear for herself and her children. She learned to read Ryan’s moods and navigated her words and actions to avoid his outrage although her efforts were not always successful. She protected her children if she anticipated he was ready to explode, frequently guarding their bedroom door at night. Having internalized the abusive language and threats, she became riddled with self-doubt and confusion. But by the end of the novel, she emerges as self-confident, recognizing Ryan for the cruel, manipulative person he is. Finally, in her home, surrounded by her children, Ciara finds herself breathing deeply and freely.
After the frenzied pace of the novel, we can breathe deeply along with her and celebrate her courage and her freedom.