Flight of the Dancing Bird: The Heartbreaking Story of Innocence Abused and Trust Betrayed in Paradise

by Tanjas Darke

With honesty and inspirational courage, Tanjas Darke offers a rare insight into the reality of dominance and mind games played by abusers, in this case her own father. More importantly she shows how the cycle can be broken and the abuser brought to justice. She relives her father's trial and describes her feelings while giving evidence against him. This is an extraordinary yet ultimately positive story which was made into a television documentary with the aim to give other abuse victims a message of hope while also providing a deeper understanding of a situation that seems incomprehensible and inescapable. Her story will remain in the heart and mind of every reader long after the book has been finished.

361 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2005

Reviews

[Zeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say I loved the book would be off. It is definitely one of the more disturbing books I have read; both my husband and I cried reading it, tears running down our cheeks. The actual story is quite horrible, but not without redemption. For starters: the author does get out of her awful situation, and in her preface she says, she sends this book as a message to others who might be trapped like she was, that yes, you can get out.
But apart from the story (harrowing as that is), the book is well written. It is "easy" to read in the sense Tanjas Darke manages to actually write a very good book. She develops her story very neatly, writing from the age point of view where the plot is at the time. She even has humor in there and little side line stories of utter beauty, which reflect no doubt her character, that of a person as close to an angel as you find on earth. So in that sense, I very much love the book.

I heard the book was read in police and other professional circles because it shows how perpetrators trap their victims, how a situation like this can develop and go on. Both Tanjas' parents were horrendous, my regret is that the mother got away scot free, and the father did not get enough of a prison term.

[Hans Brienesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a harrowing read this was. The story of a young girl systematically and sadistically sexually and psychologically abused by primarily her father from the age of nine years until she was able to get out at thirty two. And the mother was not exempt from abusing her either. Both tried to kill her. The book adequately describes the helplessness of being caught within the endless circle and being powerless to break out of it. Watch an episode or two of SVU, that gives a really sanitised version and all managed to get saved by well meaning people; life and it's events are not like that! This book describes it all in all the small details that let the reader understand exactly how the cycle is in perpetual motion and it takes 110% effort to escape it. The bright spot, if in fact there is one, is that the author DID break free and her father was suitably punished according to the laws at the time. Is there ever really a sentence appropriate to the crime?
As stated above a harrowing read but probably a necessary one for all the PC people and do-gooders out there. A brave book with a message!

[Mags · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sad story of a fathers abuse both mentally and physically. Remarkable outcome though.

[Shai · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favourite book

[Sima]

Uf... znovu raz nemôžem hodnotiť hviezdičkami, lebo by mi svedomie nedovolilo, ale... Pred chvíľou som ju dočítala a je mi ťažko. Na začiatku som si vravela, že nechápem, prečo to vlastne čítam a strácam s tým čas. A hoci som nechápala ani to, prečo som musela skonštatovať, že "Bola som otrokyňou v satanskej sekte" bolo oveľa lepšie, čo by som nikdy nepovedala, že budem tvrdiť. A mala som v hlave presný popis, ktorý sem dám... a po dni oddychu a začítaní sa do posledných 100 strán sa môj pocit zmenil. Na konci mi bolo do plaču, preciťovala som Tanjin hnev a beznádej, veľakrát som sa pýtala sama seba, koľko to ešte vydrží a čakala som, kedy zabije otca (čo by som mu dopriala bez váhania) alebo to skončí ona sama. Na začiatku som sa do nej nevedela vžiť, štýl mi nesedel, lebo sa mi zdalo, akoby to boli dva príbehy v jednom. Jeden zvrátený, kedy ju otec (robil na linke pomoci!!! skoro ma vystrelo, keď som sa k tomu prepracovala) rozleptával zvonku i zvnútra a druhý, kedy žila ako veselé dievča, zažívala bombastické veci, cestovala a celkovo sa mi páčil popis exotických krajín i mravov. Ale akosi to nešlo k sebe. Či mi pomohol oddych alebo je koniec skutočne lepší, neviem.
Keby sme sa o tom neučili na univerzite, neverila by som, že takí psychopati existujú a toto všetko dokážu. Žiaľ... V týchto knihách sa však opakujú znaky osobnosti takýchto deviantov, vždy na to idú rovnako alebo veľmi podobne a ja by som si veľmi želala, aby sa čoraz väčšmi robila osveta, aby sa dalo upozorniť na to, že ten najbližší dokáže najviac ublížiť a ako na to ide. No to je túžba. Sotva to vysvetlíte deťom vopred, keď rodičia (ale aj iní príbuzní či rodinní priatelia) sú autorita, ľudia, ktorým dôverujú. Nedá sa to. No aspoň veľmi citlivo vnímať okolie a ak sa nám čokoľvek nezdá, aspoň sa s niekým poradiť. No v týchto situáciách by som si celkom neprofesionálne vzala mačetu a sekala rad radom.

[Paige Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, scarring, and completely terrifying. A beautiful and sweet girl controlled and abused in absolutely unimaginable ways. One of the most harrowing reads ever. Tanjas is simply an amazing woman, who was a once terrorized but sweet innocent little girl.

[Bs]

how do you read it?