Reviews -- Riptide: A Novel



	Riptide A Novel

The Park Record, Vanessa R. Conabee
Marion Smith, a grandmother born and raised in Salt Lake City, takes readers on the darker side of the female Mormon psyche in "Riptide." The narrative, a stream of consciousness journey, is closely based on real events that occurred in Utah. Probing the moral dilemmas created by child sexual abuse and its real effects on lives, this story examines that struggle from new perspectives—a mother, family members, a victim, and even the abuser's perspective. More intriguing, this story is written in an authentic female voice that confesses the troubled side of Mormon culture as well as woman's own darker nature.

Smith's publicist, Maxinne Hanks, explains that Riptide's narrative is very unique.

"Her approach to this topic, in this culture, is groundbreaking," said Hanks. "There are only a few books dealing with child sexual abuse in Mormon culture, one Smith published 10 years ago and a series of articles written last year by Peggy Fletcher for the Salt Lake Tribune. Other than those two articles and one or two victim stories, there isn't a lot out there."

An expert on child abuse, Marion Smith has a master's degree in psychology, is a former therapist and co-founder of the Intermountain Specialized Abuse Treatment Center in Salt Lake. She has written articles, given public presentations and published other work on this topic. She has appeared on PBS KUED-TV "Civic Dialogue" and was interviewed by the Associated Press in Salt Lake.

For Smith, her experience working as a therapist at the I. S. A. T. clinic in Salt Lake fueled her desire to write "Riptide."

"Part of it drew from family experience and clients I had," Smith explained. "I wanted to explore some philosophical issues, too. The book is sort of an examination of what is evil, what do you do with it, is it real, how do you react to it. How does society deal with it, what does it mean, and why on earth is this happening to me? I confront the ways in which we—as parents, as Mormons, as church leaders—sometimes become collaborators in the destruction of children. The book explores moral responsibility in the face of flawed systems and wounded selves. I also reexamine some of the philosophical and psychological values of the Judeo-Christian tradition under siege of the trauma of child sexual abuse and institutional betrayal," said Smith.

"Given the dominant culture, I still ran into a lot of denial in the LDS Church and actual resistance to following the law," Smith explained. "Their active members are always very involved with the bishops in the community.

"We're this perfect people and things like this don't happen here. Furthermore, a lot of times, women were not reporting because of this partiarchal system. Kind of an old boys club, too, where the community wouldn't accept negative accusations about certain members."

Smith agreed that the system has improved dramatically, but feels it is still flawed. "Twenty-five, 30 years ago this hardly existed, but we've gradually came to realize that physical abuse was in fact happening to little children. Reporting and therapy help, the problem is being addressed. We hope it well gradually improve."

The volatility of Smith's position as a member of the Church and arbiter of it's darkest secrets is not lost for Hanks. As a friend, fellow LDS member, and publicist, she articulates the controversy "Riptide" raises.

"She could have gone, she could have left, but here she is this remarkably evolved person in this culture and she's dealing with some of the darkest stuff you encounter in this culture. I call her book 'redemptive,' because she goes into that darkness for everybody: for the victims, for the abuser, for the church, because people can't deal with this. It's so fragmented. She goes in and talks about the worst stuff that happens and goes into the internal struggle. She kind of does the work that the whole culture needs to do. That's what I think great writing and great artwork does. The artist goes in, like Joseph Conrad, to that 'heart of darkness.' Exploring something for the whole culture."