"A brilliantly written, non-fiction thriller Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2024 Verified Purchase The story begins with the first stage of the escape of protagonist, Carrie, rife with the fear of being caught and returned to a relationship that had turned nightmarishly sour. It segues into the latter portion of her marriage, providing a summary of Carrie's relationship, her role as a mother, translator, and housewife and her desperation to solve the unsolvable problem of a dysfunctional marriage with an abusive and controlling husband. Turkey itself, and the other places the main character visits, are vibrant and vivid, the heat palpable, the odors tangible. Author Caroline Orman knows exactly which details to include to place you firmly in an environment and does so repeatedly and without effort. Not only does Orman capture scenes well, she also shows you the viewpoint of the manipulated woman, the helplessness of a victim of abuse whose tormentor has twisted an entire community to their side. It's a brilliantly balanced and orchestrated story, without rushing through scenes and building tension through carefully chosen episodes of psychological abuse and physical intimidation, switching back and forth between Carrie's escape and the events leading to it, until, at last, her past life catches up to her present. The characters are real and believable and Carrie's husband, Serkan, a poisonous man empowered by a powerful sense of ownership, controls her through physical intimidation, threats of shattering her family, and a steady campaign of devaluing her, even though she supports her family with full-time occupations as a translator at a hospital and as a housewife. It becomes necessary for Carrie to flee the community, even the country entirely, to escape the onerous shadows of her relationships. It's worth investigating the systemic issues in Turkey while reading The Other Side of Fear for context--Turkey is by no means Iran or some other theocratic nation (though it could be argued its conservative party is pushing it in that direction--there certainly seemed to be a tangible shove to the right worldwide around 2016, when this story takes place), but the treatment of women is by no means equal. Is this meant to imply that all relationships in Turkey are similar to the protagonist's? Absolutely not. Carrie's situation is particularly toxic and it's clear she believes the law can help extricate her legally from her marriage. But the implication is also that there is a misogynistic culture that offers a form of permission that might not otherwise have been granted, nor should be tolerated in any society, which encourages the chauvinist inclinations of her manipulative husband, who believes he can abuse her with impunity with meaningless repercussions. The lethargic and ineffective or indifferent justice system furthers this permission. What's particularly unnerving, as Orman points out in her epilogue, is Carrie's situation did not require Turkey as its setting--this degree of physical and psychological abuse, and flat out misogyny, happens everywhere. Despite the seeming obviousness of a need to leave a failed marriage, Orman does a magnificent job making the decision challenging not just from a logistical sense, but also from a pragmatic sense--Carrie likes Turkey, her friends, her job, her home, and loves her young son, all of which she must by degrees abandon. She is leaving far more than just her oppressive husband and the weight of these attachments must have been tremendous, which in turn should indicate the degree of trauma that finally convinced her to go. The story reads like a thriller, with the high-strung protagonist listening and looking for signs of her husband everywhere, but the dedication implies it is something of a warning (which the epilogue confirms), and it's successful as both. It is a gripping and alarming story, one addressing the potential dangers of complacency, of overcoming one's apprehensions about doing what is best for oneself, and illustrating in the details of her story the point at which the rewards begin to outweigh the risks. Identifying the story as creative nonfiction, as Orman does, makes the content so much more shocking and mortifying, but in the same breath satisfying, because it's clear from the title (an excerpt from a George Addair quote, according to the author) that, as dark as it can get, there is a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Orman's book is touching, inspiring, and gratifying. I'm glad to have read Carrie's story, mortified by her situation, but relieved by her resolution. I hope others who read this, should they be in similar situations, living in fear and feeling trapped, find the same strength Carrie did to reach the other side of it."