Book review
Rock me Gently
Book reviewed by Philip
Blake
This is a sad story of all kinds of abuse!
In the 1950s at the age of eight, and shortly after her
father’s death, Ruth Kelly was deposited by her mother
to the care of an orphanage in Britain. Her treatment and
the treatment of others recorded in her diary can only be
described as sadistic. During that time a a tragic accident
at the beach robbed her of her closest friend. For years she
was encouraged to blame herself for the accident and this
memory haunted her. Eventually she was able to transfer to
another very different school where her talents were
encouraged.
Some time after leaving school she found her catharsis in
an Israeli kibbutz. There she spent much time with an
elderly mentor who allowed her to walk through her traumas
and nightmares. Much later in life she was able to confront
the one who had been particularly cruel to her and come to
terms with her past.
This book is well written and movingly alternates between
Judith’s time in the orphanage and her time in the
kibbutz. After that time she trained at the Chelsea College
of Art and worked with the Keeper of the British Collection
at the Tate Gallery, before beginning her career in
television production. Now in retirement, she runs a support
group for those abused by priests and nuns.
This book is disturbing reading and is not so much an
indictment against a particular Christian group, as a sad
commentary on the beliefs and attitudes of a bygone age.
Abuse has not disappeared, but one hopes it is not now done
as normal ‘Christian discipline.’
Judith Kelly’s book is one that all caring
Christians ought to read. It is an account not only of
abuse, but also of one person’s ability to come to
terms with her past and rise above the tragic years. We
ought to be shocked and disturbed as we ensure that as far
as is humanly possible, history does not repeat itself.
Rock me Gently (The true story of a Convent
childhood) by Judith Kelly. Bloomsbury, London 2005 275pp.
RRP $29.95
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