Web of Tyranny

by Laurel-Rain Snow

In equal parts funny and serious, Web of Tyranny by Laurel-Rain Snow is a proud, if poignant tale of Margaret Elaine Graham, a woman entangled in the trenches that epitomized her abusive childhood home only to flee into a stultifying marriage with Bob Williams. Seduced by the hope of achieving her goal of a college education and a life free from domination, she is blinded to Bob’s true qualities—and in a very real sense jumps from the pan into the fire. Oppression begets oppression and as Meg walks a thin line of human betrayal, she learns to stake her own claim to happiness—no matter how high the cost. Her fight leads to politicking during the radical antiwar movement of the 60s and 70s, which manifests as a near-compulsion, which will turn her world on end. Enticed by the possibilities open to her and chafing at the strictures of the marital ties, Meg bolts from the marriage with her toddler son in tow where a whole myriad of troubles await her.

608 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2008

About the author

Laurel-Rain Snow is the pen name for Lorraine Frost Sandone, who was born in California's Central Valley, attending community college in Modesto, CA, after which she transferred to San Francisco State University in the sixties. She transferred again and graduated from California State University in Sacramento, with a BA in psychology.

Ms. Snow moved to Fresno, CA, in the early seventies, where she then worked in the social work profession for over thirty years, specializing primarily in child welfare cases. She earned her MA in counseling from California State University of Fresno in the seventies.

Ms. Snow, now retired from social work, lives in Fresno, CA, and is the mother of four grown children and proud grandmother of seven.

After retiring from the social work profession, Ms.Snow turned to an old dream—writing—and has published six novels, available on Amazon.com.

The author weaves three decades of experience into her novels, which sets them apart and lends authenticity to the characterizations.

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child, Meg Graham does not understand her father’s cold, overly harsh attitude toward her and wants nothing more than to escape from her strict fundamentalist upbringing. College offers her the chance but Meg ends up in a similar situation when she marries a man who is controlling, overly critical and manipulative. Meg finds the strength to leave the marriage with her toddler son in tow and begins life anew as a social worker, subsequently changing her name to Lainey. She joins the protest movement and through a feminist group meets supportive women, enjoying the freestyle life of San Francisco during the ‘60s, experimenting with sex and drugs. Ultimately, Meg/Lainey questions her problems with intimacy, which she can only overcome via the use of alcohol, and enters treatment. Through therapy, she confronts the demons of her past and allows her repressed memories to emerge, learning why she continues to sabotage her own happiness.

With great skill, Snow captures the essence of the ‘60s via her depiction of that era’s fashions, vernacular, sexual mores, protests against the Viet Nam War, and women’s efforts for egalitarianism through the feminist movement. Although two separate subplots at times threaten to overpower Meg’s story, this does not happen, and the unveiling of the relationship between Rainbow and Natasha enhances more than takes away from the plot. Young adults of today would be well-advised to read this novel if only to get a good grasp of what life was like for women during this fascinating, history-changing time period.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting story! You will love Meg...and this author

I seldom enjoy books longer than 350 pages, so I was intimidated when this book came in at a whopping 608 pages. Ouch! I almost shoved it to the bottom of the growing TBR pile.

But I've read this author before, so I decided to glance at page one. "Only page one," I muttered under my breath... But page one was enough. I was hooked!

There's nothing that hooks me on a book quicker than a skilled author making me care about the main characters. And that's exactly what Laurel Rain Snow does in Web of Tyranny! She reeled me in as easily as a shoe salesman flashing a pair of red Pradas before my eyes--flip-flops, of course. LOL.

I fell in love with the main character Margaret Elaine Graham--Meg for short. That girl tugged at my heartstrings from the beginning of this intriguing story; I was a goner! We first meet her at age ten when she struggles to understand why her father is so controlling and mean to her. Poor Meg becomes entangled in a web of tyranny that "smothers" her life for decades.

Author Snow weaves her web of well-chosen words in such intricate ways that we follow Meg from one type of tyranny to another. But the innocent child is inventive, learning to cope by sheer courage, determination and natural self-preservation. She's a good student, smart and sharp, so she finds some escape through her studies and friendships.

Why doesn't her mother help? What happens to Meg later when she escapes through marriage? Is her husband the answer...or will he be controlling like her father? All she wants is freedom and escape from tyranny. Does her husband support her goals? Does she stay in the marriage?

Throughout her childhood abuse, Meg fails to find the meaning behind some of her more frightening "memories," so shoves them to the back of her mind. For many years--throughout her marriage and as she develops close relationships with supportive women friends--she refuses to examine the deep, dark thoughts that rush to the surface on more frequently occurring occasions.

This author takes Meg through college and the birth of her child with such clear, crisp writing that the pages fanned right through my fingers. On and on I read, empathizing as our main character struggles through one wrong choice after another, but when she turns to alcohol, my heart broke for her. She was weaving a web that would entangle her even tighter than the one her father had spun.

How does Meg finally overcome and find her long-awaited freedom? I can't tell you that, of course, but I can tell you that she becomes a social worker, which gives her a certain amount of the freedom she craves. Her job brings her into contact with other women like herself, while friendships with other social workers helps to a degree.

I recommend you read this book to find out what brings Meg to fulfillment. You will delight in watching her tear down that web...one painful strand after another. And you will undoubtedly learn skills that will help in your own relationships.

I've read three of Laurel Rain Snow's books, but since she has written five, I have two more treats in store. She certainly is a gifted writer, telling one story after another with such self-assurance that it's obvious she knows all about human relationships and the social-worker's job. She should, because she was an esteemed social worker, helping many women like Meg along her career path.

I recommend this book highly... To be read at a leisurely pace, along with soothing cups of tea.

Reviewed by Betty Dravis, April 2009
Author of: "1106 Grand Boulevard"
"The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley"
"Millennium Babe: The Prophecy"

"Dream Reachers" coming soon

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

In equal parts funny and serious, Web of Tyranny by Laurel-Rain Snow is a proud, if poignant tale of Margaret Elaine Graham, a woman entangled in the trenches that epitomized her abusive childhood home only to flee into a stultifying marriage with Bob Williams.

Seduced by the hope of achieving her goal of a college education and a life free from domination, she is blinded to Bob’s true qualities—and in a very real sense jumps from the pan into the fire. Oppression begets oppression and as Meg walks a thin line of human betrayal, she learns to stake her own claim to happiness—no matter how high the cost.

Her fight leads to politicking during the radical antiwar movement of the 60s and 70s, which manifests as a near-compulsion, which will turn her world on end. Enticed by the possibilities open to her and chafing at the strictures of the marital ties, Meg bolts from the marriage with her toddler son in tow where a whole myriad of troubles await her.

KIRKUS REVIEWS writes: The burden of child abuse follows Meg Graham from her strict fundamentalist upbringing to the
Summer of Love.

From the time she is ten years old, Meg is determined to escape her father’s controlling grasp, get an education
and marry the man of her choice. As a young woman she reaches her goals, but happiness eludes her.
Miserable in her marriage, she takes her toddler son and leaves her controlling husband, builds a satisfying
career as a social worker, finds emotional support among new women friends and explores the sexual mores
of San Francisco in the ’60s. She rejects the conservative values of her childhood through alcohol, pot and
(mostly) fleeting relationships with men. She also changes her name to Lainey. The novel’s multiple subplots reflect the messiness of real life but divert focus from Meg/Lainey as the central character. Two subplots in particular—the
machinations of sociopathic Gretchen, who orchestrated a
rape to blackmail Lainey, and the complex relationship between the artist Rainbow and Natasha, a social worker who years before caused Rainbow to lose custody of her child—could form the core of the story or a separate novel. The
question of whether Meg/Lainey was sexually abused as a
child hovers over early chapters, but as the story progresses, it is eclipsed by the novel’s other complexities. Only when Lainey begins hypnotherapy
do repressed memories of abuse come to the fore, as does her awareness that she is abusing alcohol to bury her feelings about the past. A retired social worker, Snow does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the ’60s in clothes, interiors, dialogue and attitudes, but the steady onslaught of new characters and subplots diminishes Meg/Lainey as a character. The relationship between
Natasha and Rainbow is the strongest part of the
book. As they go through the process of betrayal and forgiveness, they emerge as richer characters than Lainey, who, despite her journey of self realization,
still comes across as a lost soul.

A rambling voyage of discovery through the ’60s.

[Sandra Nachlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Web of Tyranny is the kind of book I adore—a meaty story that takes the reader deep inside the mind of the main character. Growing up, Meg’s family is ruled by an abusive, religious fanatic father who dictates every aspect of her life--her choice of clothes, hairstyle, friends, and all her activities. The story takes us through the decades of the 1960s and early 1970s--turbulent times.

Meg’s repressive childhood affects her for the rest of her life. Rather than following the dictates of her father, she rebels against him with often disastrous (but believable) results.

I like the way the author goes deep into the character. Meg's life makes sense—starting with her repressed childhood and to the wild-and-wooly Sixties in which she spends her years as a young adult. Her eventual “growing up” makes sense too. The author has done a great job of creating a well-rounded character whose struggles translate well into today’s world.

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

In equal parts funny and serious, Web of Tyranny by Laurel-Rain Snow is a proud, if poignant tale of Margaret Elaine Graham, a woman entangled in the trenches that epitomized her abusive childhood home only to flee into a stultifying marriage with Bob Williams.

Seduced by the hope of achieving her goal of a college education and a life free from domination, she is blinded to Bob’s true qualities—and in a very real sense jumps from the pan into the fire. Oppression begets oppression and as Meg walks a thin line of human betrayal, she learns to stake her own claim to happiness—no matter how high the cost.

Her fight leads to politicking during the radical antiwar movement of the 60s and 70s, which manifests as a near-compulsion, which will turn her world on end. Enticed by the possibilities open to her and chafing at the strictures of the marital ties, Meg bolts from the marriage with her toddler son in tow where a whole myriad of troubles await her.

KIRKUS REVIEWS writes: The burden of child abuse follows Meg Graham from her strict fundamentalist upbringing to the
Summer of Love.

From the time she is ten years old, Meg is determined to escape her father’s controlling grasp, get an education
and marry the man of her choice. As a young woman she reaches her goals, but happiness eludes her.
Miserable in her marriage, she takes her toddler son and leaves her controlling husband, builds a satisfying
career as a social worker, finds emotional support among new women friends and explores the sexual mores
of San Francisco in the ’60s. She rejects the conservative values of her childhood through alcohol, pot and
(mostly) fleeting relationships with men. She also changes her name to Lainey. The novel’s multiple subplots reflect the messiness of real life but divert focus from Meg/Lainey as the central character. Two subplots in particular—the
machinations of sociopathic Gretchen, who orchestrated a
rape to blackmail Lainey, and the complex relationship between the artist Rainbow and Natasha, a social worker who years before caused Rainbow to lose custody of her child—could form the core of the story or a separate novel. The
question of whether Meg/Lainey was sexually abused as a
child hovers over early chapters, but as the story progresses, it is eclipsed by the novel’s other complexities. Only when Lainey begins hypnotherapy
do repressed memories of abuse come to the fore, as does her awareness that she is abusing alcohol to bury her feelings about the past. A retired social worker, Snow does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the ’60s in clothes, interiors, dialogue and attitudes, but the steady onslaught of new characters and subplots diminishes Meg/Lainey as a character. The relationship between
Natasha and Rainbow is the strongest part of the
book. As they go through the process of betrayal and forgiveness, they emerge as richer characters than Lainey, who, despite her journey of self realization,
still comes across as a lost soul.

A rambling voyage of discovery through the ’60s.

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Woman's Amazing Journey!