Sibling Abuse and the Greek Myths

Send us a text

This Podcast contains a paid promotion with Amazon.com. Breaking the silence about family violence requires courage, understanding, and sometimes, the unexpected intervention of ancient mythological forces. My new book "Three Kidnapped Three Siblings, Three Furies" emerged from my personal journey as a survivor of extensive family abuse, particularly at the hands of my brother while my parents stood by passively.

This horror thriller follows three families whose eldest teenage children vanish simultaneously after school. What unfolds is a harrowing quest to recover them, guided by ransom notes from the three Furies of Greek mythology—divine beings who punish wrongdoing within families. Through this narrative framework, I explore how our culture and even religious institutions often fail victims of sibling abuse, forcing us to "think outside the box" to address these hidden crimes.

My decision to write this as fiction rather than memoir stems from compassion—not for my abuser, but for his innocent children and grandchildren who shouldn't bear the weight of his actions. The novel features an inspiring heroine named Isabel who lives with well-managed schizophrenia and specializes in Greek mythology, demonstrating that people are not defined by their diagnoses. Through gore, supernatural elements, and mythological intervention, the book delivers a powerful message: sibling abuse is a terrible crime that too often goes unaddressed, and we must speak up when we suspect a child is suffering. If you enjoyed "The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia," this new work continues my exploration of difficult truths through the protective distance of fiction. Available now in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook formats through the Amazon affiliate link in the episode description.

#siblingabuse #childsexualabuse #greekmyths #kidnapping #thriller #horror #fiction #confession #samehere #notmyshame

Here are my website and social media credentials: https://aussiemathematician.io/

https://dianadirkbywrites.com

 My Instagram: @dianadirkby_writings (https://www.instagram.com/dianadirkby_writings/)

My Facebook Page: Diana Dirkby Writings (https://www.facebook.com/DianaDirkbyAuthor)

My X-account: @dianadirkby (https://x.com/DianaDirkby)

My YouTube channel @Diana DirkbyWrites (https://www.youtube.com/@DianaDirkbyWrites)

Amazon affiliate link for “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia,” by Diana Dirkby: https://amzn.to/44Rhx5z and for “Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies,” by Diana Dirkby: https://amzn.to/43CRLzY. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Episode Transcript

Diana (00:03):
Hello, I have written a more recent book than the
Overlife A Tale of Schizophrenia.
The second book is titled ThreeKidnapped Three Siblings, Three
Furies, which we'll refer to asThree Siblings.
It is available in paperback,hardcover, kindle and audiobook
formats.
You can view it by visiting theaffiliate link that I'll give

(00:27):
as part of the episodedescription.
This link is an Amazonaffiliate link and I am an
Amazon associate, so I earn fromqualifying purchases.
I also earn separate royaltiesfrom my own book sales.
So to return to the subject ofthe second book, the book
examines three families whoseeldest teenage child goes

(00:51):
missing on the same day afterschool.
It falls within the horror andthriller genres, with the
primary tension centered on thequest to recover the three
kidnapped teenagers.
The horror element exposes thesibling abuse within the
families through compliance withthe series of ransom notes.

(01:11):
The kidnappers and authors ofthe ransom notes are the three
Furies from Greek mythology.
There I've explained the titlewithout revealing too much as I
don't want to spoil the plot forthose who have yet to read the
book.
For those who like it, there isplenty of gore and fear in the

(01:38):
book, but none of that outdoesthe situation of a victim of
real sibling abuse.
I have been open about my firstbook, the Overlife, a Tale of
Schizophrenia, being closelybased on the experiences of my
mother and me with schizophrenia.
That will lead you to ask was Ialso a victim of sibling abuse?

(02:02):
The answer is broader.
I was a victim of abuse by allthree members of my immediate
family.
Was it emotional, physical orsexual?
This whole trio influenced myrelationships with the rest of
my immediate family.
I was closest to my mother andI came to understand that her

(02:24):
emotional abuse towards me as wegrew older stemmed from her
unmanaged schizophrenia.
She was never violent with me,nor did she make any sexual
advances.
My father and brother did,successfully.
My father when I was very youngand my brother when I was a

(02:45):
preteen.
My father was violent with me,something my brother never was.
Both my father and my brotherinflicted emotional abuse, with
by far the worst of it comingfrom my brother.
So I was a victim of extremeemotional and some sexual abuse
from my brother.
My parents did nothing about it.

(03:08):
I was at the bottom rung of theladder in my family of four,
according to my mother andbrother, and they enforced the
ranking, I was on the bottomrung, my father was next, then
my mother, then my brother.
In my mother's eyes, my brothercould do no wrong and she often
told me I had to do anything heasked.

(03:30):
In my little world I had noallies.
Paradoxically, despite mymother's attitudes, I knew she
loved me and was very mentallyill.
That helped me absorb heremotional abuse and still have
many happy days with her.
Why did I introduce the threeFuries into my story?

(03:52):
In Greek mythology, they punishwrongdoing, especially within
families.
Symbolically, our culture andeven religion fall short in the
book, despite one of the heroesbeing a Catholic priest.
The more critical heroine isIsabel, someone who lives with

(04:12):
schizophrenia and is aspecialist in the Greek myths.
Consumers of mental health arenot their diagnosis.
So I wanted her schizophrenia,which she is managing well, not
to be a factor.
The message in introducing Greekmythology is that we cannot

(04:34):
always stop a severe crime suchas sibling abuse, without
thinking outside the box.
Not only are the three familieswith kidnapped teens held to
account, but the whole villagein which they live, as witnessed
by phenomena closer to biblicalplagues than Greek mythology.
Sibling abuse is a terriblecrime and most families involved

(04:57):
do nothing or not enough aboutit.
The three families in my novelare initially clueless.
Greek mythology steps in toprovide insight.
We need to examine what isabsent from our culture to
highlight what our culture can'tsuccessfully address.

(05:21):
It enables me to leave out myreal family, in particular my
brother, who has gone on to livea happy life.
I don't want to damage him, butmost of all, I don't want to
punish his children andgrandchildren with the knowledge
of what he did to me.
My overriding request to allwho are listening to or watching

(05:42):
this podcast is don't be silent.
If you think a child may besuffering from abuse by a family
member, tell the police.
Thank you for listening orwatching.
If you are on YouTube, don'tforget to subscribe to my
channel, enable notificationsand like my videos.

(06:02):
I leave my website and socialmedia information in the episode
description, as well as theAmazon affiliate links to my two
books.
As an Amazon associate, I earnfrom qualifying purchases.
Have a great weekend.
Oh well, you've had a greatweekend.

(06:24):
Because this comes out onSunday.
I often forget that because Iprepare it in advance, so I hope
you had a great weekend.
Bye!.