Deafening Silence
Fighting the Battle Within
Daniel Shaw is a modern-day warrior who served in Afghanistan with honour and pride until a hostile engagement with the enemy left him profoundly deaf and medically discharged. Now, in the months leading up to Remembrance Day he is plagued by fragmented nightmares about the incident and consumed by a volcanic rage that constantly bubbles beneath the surface of his controlled exterior. His children are afraid of him, he becomes increasingly paranoid that his wife is cheating, and he receives scant assistance from the institutional services that are supposed to be helping him transition back into civilian life.
Consequently, he struggles to hold onto his job and when his father passes away suddenly and unexpectedly, he loses his moral compass. Yet pride forbids him to ask for help and so he becomes increasingly unstable and self-destructive. Finally, as the nation observes a minute of silence on Remembrance Day in honour of those who died in the line of duty, Daniel is faced with a decision: surrender his pride and ask for help or relinquish his life to the war that continues to rage inside his mind.
Format: novel
Genre: contemporary fiction/trauma fiction
Pages: 321
Publisher: The Pynk Sphynx
Reviews
Deafening Silence is a difficult book in many ways, but a thought provoking and rewarding one. I would say that this is a book that tackles some very difficult topics and goes to some very dark places, so I do think readers need to be aware of that before going in, but if that does not sway you, this book is worth your time.
Annette J.@NetGalley - 13/08/2025
Deafening Silence by S.C. Farrow is a poignant and deeply affecting portrayal of trauma, identity, and the hidden struggles of returning veterans. With tender yet unflinching prose, it captures the quiet heartbreak of a life forever changed. I enjoyed this book and rated it five stars.
Jessica S.@NetGalley - 15/08/2025
★★★★
★★★★★
★★★★★
Deafening Silence is a powerful, moving, and bittersweet portrayal of what can easily happen to an ordinary person after extraordinary trauma. S.C. Farrow has created a recognizable family unit in Daniel and his wife, Kelly. They are the quintessential working-class Australian family struggling to make ends meet. I was impressed by the depth of both characters, but Kelly will probably capture most readers’ warmth, attention, and sympathy. As a nurse, she has a vital, well-paying job, but her home life and the constant tightrope she must walk to keep her kids safe and her husband from doing something terrible put immense strain on her psychologically and emotionally. She is a truly empathetic and relatable character. The seeming indifference of the government bureaucracy to Danny’s plight does go some way to understanding his anger and his psyche, but it is undoubtedly his unaddressed issues that drive his self-destructiveness. What this novel does beautifully is portray the sad plight of many soldiers who went to fight in a foreign war against an enemy that was often indistinguishable from innocent civilians. How many veterans worldwide are suffering, like Danny, and struggling to come to terms with life after extreme trauma? This novel, written in the Australian vernacular, gives us food for thought and an insight into a problem very few of us will ever have to face. Indeed, we thank them for their service, and this author for highlighting their difficulties. I highly recommend this book.
Grant Leishman@Readers' Favourite - 14/08/2025
© 2024. All rights reserved
In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and the Torres Straight Islands and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
ABN: 19 569 432 238
