I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Scars Don't Hurt

As we perambulate through life, we pass by people with unseen scars; people who have faced the unimaginable yet the remnants remain hidden and concealed away beyond what our eyes can perceive. Tremendous triumphs, exultations and tribulations underly every untold testimony. So often survivors of abuse have had their experiences denied, trivialized, or distorted; but the truth cannot be denied. For if there is light, darkness is unable to exist. Both, Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and the autobiography “Scars Don’t Hurt” by Margaret and Blake Davidson deeply submerge the reader into the world of sexual abuse and the suffering that it produces; yet the abused prevails and thrives in spite of their circumstances. The autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” reveals Maya Angelou’s traumatic childhood. Maya is continuously disciplined with beatings that were claimed to be “biblical approaches” by Mama (her grandmother) and her Uncle Willie. She is raped which inaugurates the beginning of her heartache, affliction and misery but also shapes her into a powerful woman. “Scars Don’t Hurt” follows a similar pattern. Margaret Davidson’s childhood was dictated by fear and abuse. Out of her vulnerability she finds true inner resilience and restoration in her beliefs. Through the duration of both books, family situations and relationships, the suffering victim of ravaging abuse, and the need to overcome horrendous conditions are closely linked, showing how some victims grow into unwavering solidity when faced with the catastrophic storms of life.

“Children beginning life or early finding themselves without parents, sometimes with no one but themselves. They travel through life desperately in search of a ...

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...sionate, overcoming sister, able to lead the brother who had taken so much from me. What had started out from utter pain had been transformed into a thing of beauty.” (pg. 361) Her deep wounds were healed; mere scars now—scars that don’t hurt—that serve as a reminder to others that God heals all.

The ship of life may or may not take you sailing on calm and amiable seas, and the challenging days of existence may or may not be bright and promising. But if you maintain an attitude of perseverance and insist on holding onto integrity, nothing can dim the light which shines within. Both Davidson’s and Angelou’s lives were built on a shaky foundation having to be stripped away and relayed with solid ground. The fight for deliverance is a journey on a seemingly endless road always fading into the distance; yet is attainable to those who are willing and unwavering.