Scented Gardens for the Blind

Erlene lives silently inside her mind, communicating only with imaginary Uncle Black Beetle. Her parents believe that she can and must be cured of her muteness, and that once she is cured, she will make a statement crucial to humankind. The novel twists in the last chapter to reveal another surprising world where Vera struggles to make the first statement, and only through the fracturing of silence by her new language can she escape her prison.