Why Syon's Realistic But Terrible Life: Character Origin

In “The Owl from Oblivion”, I broach a number of difficult subjects that may make a few “polishers” of gifted students wonder why I would want to put such details into a book potentially read by gifted tweens and teens. One instance, in which the highly gifted character, Syon, is repeatedly brutalized by alcoholic parents, might shock some sensitive individuals. So why include it?

I took a journey discovering giftedness, specifically 2e giftedness, a few years ago. As part of that journey, I...