Bear Witness – April, 2015
Bear Witness was selected as a finalist for the 2015 USA Book Awards!
“Melissa Clark’s Bear Witness takes a piercing look at the world of Paige Bellen, a young woman whose transition into adolescence is haunted by the kidnapping and death of her best friend: “One minute everything was normal and then a door opened and it was never the same.” By presenting Paige’s narrative in reverse chronological order, Clark unsettles the normal and the ordinary, to reveal the cracks in such notions as safety, refuge and innocence. A harrowing, resonant portrait of girlhood trauma.”
–Rigoberto González author of Butterfly Boy and The Mariposa Club
“A quick read, Bear Witness is filled with the roller coaster of emotions that comes with losing a loved one. More than that, it details witnessing a tragic event and the aftermath of the trauma. Told from present to past, we understand that the only way to heal is over time…Overall, great writing by Clark, and an emotional story that makes anyone who has lost a loved one feel touched.”
–Amanda Barbara for Pubslush
