About the Book
The Silenced Boy is a powerful coming-of-age novel that traces the haunting journey of David, a boy burdened with secrets no child should bear.
At five, David finds comfort in the warmth of his grandmother's home, a brief refuge before he is thrust into a life of hardship in a tiny shop with his parents. There, he learns that love is conditional, and punishment is swift. When he is sent to a Catholic school, the kindness of Brother Gladwin masks a far more sinister reality-one that leaves David traumatized and unable to speak of the horrors he endures.
As he grows, David clings to fleeting moments of freedom: a hidden bicycle, long journeys into the unknown, and the dignity of hard work. But each return home is met with cold indifference. At twelve, he is left alone, his family vanished without a trace. By sixteen, abandoned and forced to survive on his own, he finds himself in a world of exploitation, where trust is a currency he cannot afford.
Lost between past betrayals and a future that feels uncertain, David searches for meaning in forbidden encounters, navigating love, desire, and the lingering shadows of his past. But when the weight of his silence threatens to consume him, he makes a choice-one final act of defiance that will determine his future.
Can David break free from the chains of his past, or will silence be his only refuge?
A deeply moving story of resilience, identity, and the courage to reclaim one's voice.
About the Author :
Author background=================Peter Freeman lives on Salt Spring Island on the west coast of Canada. He writes nonfiction and fiction novels, screen and stage plays, short stories, magazine articles, and poetry.Peter grew up in what was once the sleepy fishing village of Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast, just south of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. He started his career as a cadet surveyor and then as a journeyman fitter and turner before focusing on computer science at the University of Tasmania.While in Hobart, Peter joined the local rock climbing club, where he later met Max Dorfligger, a carpenter, shipwright, and famous Swiss mountaineer. Peter sailed across the Tasman Sea with Max in the thirty-two-foot sloop, Sunshine, that Max had built to New Zealand, where Peter then spent the next few years driving trains and building his sailboat, Laiviņa.Eventually, Peter sailed from New Zealand to Australia and then to Canada, where he incorporated an Information Technology company that produced and sold scientific and business software to universities, governments, and the private sector. In 1984, Peter departed Victoria, British Columbia, to sail his thirty-two-foot sloop, Laiviņa, on a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe, breaking the existing world record with a time of 236 days. His book, Cape Horn Birthday, is an account of this journey.Peter is a masters athlete who has represented Canada internationally in world championships, competing in Italy, South Africa, Australia, the USA, and Canada, and has won gold, silver, and bronze medals in these competitions in the 100, 200, 400, and 800 metre events. In 2003, at 51, Peter was ranked 11th in the world and 1st in Canada in the 400-metre event for his time in Puerto Rico of 55.10 seconds.Peter has twice ridden his bicycle across Canada and, at the age of 61, bicycled the 15,400 kilometres around the perimeter of Australia, unsupported, in 79 days, averaging 200 kilometres a day.His colourful history has given him an endless vault of story ideas to write about, as his publishing experience illustrates: Awards====== - Winner - 2019 University of Saskatchewan, The Fieldstone Review's literary prize - "Hidden Message" - Best Short Story (Shortlist): "In the Waiting Room" - Best of 2018 Adelaide Literary Award - Best Poem (Finalist): "Last Beating" - Best of 2018 Adelaide Literary AwardPublished========= - Books ◦ Novels ▪ Deadly Delivery - 363 pages - Ensilwood Publishing, SSI - 2025 ▪ The Silenced Boy - 266 pages - Ensilwood Publishing, SSI - 2025 ▪ Fleeing the 51st State - 274 pages - Tablet Publications, Vancouver, BC - 2025 ▪ The Worm Lady's Daughter - 256 pages - Ensilwood Publishing, SSI - 2025 ◦ Nonfiction ▪ Cape Horn Birthday: Record-Breaking Solo Non-Stop Circumnavigation - 348 pages - Seaworthy Publications Inc. FL - 2018. ◦ Short Stories ▪ Elements: Thirteen Stories (2nd Ed) - 305 pages - Ensilwood Publishing, SSI - 2025 ◦ Screen and Stage Plays ▪ Alchemy Alive: Twelve Screen and Stage Plays - Fiction - 382 pages - Ensilwood Publishing, SSI - 2021 ◦ Anthologies ▪ In the Waiting Room - Best of 2018 Adelaide Literary Award - Short Stories - Adelaide Books, New York. ▪ Last Beating - Best of 2018 Adelaide Literary Award - Poetry - Adelaide Books, New York. ◦ Poetry ▪ Growth: Life's Flow in Poetry (2nd Ed - #1 Growth series) - 141 pages - Ensilwood Publishing, SSI - 2025 ▪ Regrowth: Reaching for the Poetic Sky (#2 Growth series) - 119 pages - Ensilwood Publishing, SSI - 2025
Review :
"Thank you for letting me read your book The Silenced Boy. As promised here are some of my notes, in hopes they may be useful for your promotion.
"I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it deeply moving on many levels. One of the aspects that stood out to me was the portrayal of David, the silenced boy. The author's use of italics to convey David's inner thoughts was both creative and effective, allowing readers to gain intimate access to his internal world despite his outward silence.
"As an introvert, I felt a strong personal connection with David. His experiences, emotions, and inner struggles resonated deeply with me. Throughout the many adversities and challenges he faced, I admired how he remained a positive, thoughtful, and caring person. Even when life dealt him some particularly difficult blows, he never allowed bitterness or anger to consume him. His resilience and empathy were truly inspiring.
"The inclusion of vignettes provided valuable insight into David's character development and offered a fuller understanding of how his experiences shaped him. One moment that particularly struck me was a line on page 237: "He had yearned for such a long time, for years. It wasn't so much the feeling of being loved; it was the feeling of being wanted." This sentence powerfully encapsulates David's longing and vulnerability-a sentiment that I personally relate to.
"By the end of the book, I felt a profound connection to David and saw many parallels between his story and my own life experiences. I sincerely hope there will be a sequel in the future, as I would love to continue following David's journey.
"Thank you for the opportunity to read this beautiful and touching book." - Warren Silver - Victoria, BC
