The Silence Project

Carole Hailey

Allen & Unwin

Otago Daily Times, 2023

“Shhhh…Talk Less, Listen More”.

These words are the catchphrase of the Community, a global movement dedicated to saving the world from war, overpopulation, and global warming. But for Emilia Morris, daughter of the woman identified as the group’s founder and prophet, these words are a hollow disguise for an ideology that is interested only in listening to itself. She has lost her mother, Rachel, thrice over: In 2003, when she chose silence and isolation over family; in 2011, when Rachel and thousands of women around the world burn themselves alive to make their message heard; and in the years after her death when her identity and image were co-opted by those who remained as a route to social and power. Now, in 2022, Emilia is reclaiming her mother’s legacy, publishing the notebooks in which Rachel documents the evolution of her silence project and this, her own story, which exposes the corruption of the Community from within.

Lawyer-turned-writer Carole Hailey’s debut novel is a cleverly constructed exploration of how ideology can become fanaticism and a critique of organisations that try to enact positive change while imposing top-down solutions on the poor, weak, and vulnerable. It is a captivating and chilling read.