The Severed Cord is an intelligently crafted tale of disconnection, displacement and disillusionment. Twartz is respectful of Indigenous culture and marital bonds as he creates complex characters with deep-seated motivations desperately seeking to reconnect with what they have lost.
In 1914, Aboriginal stockman Jimmy is trapped by whitefella bigotry. Spiritually connected to his Indigenous ancestry, Jimmy struggles to save family and heritage until he is manipulated into abandoning his beloved wife and child to protect the three white brothers he has guided toward manhood against the horrors of WWI.
The unhealable wounds the men receive survive two generations as deep psychological scars that manifest in the interwoven present-day tale of Harry, whose fractured life cannot become whole without understanding and accepting the dark complexity of his heritage.
The Severed Cord will resonate with those sympathetic to the inexplicable sense of loss that is beyond personal experience, crossing culture and spanning generations.