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Stories that Shape Us: Tower of Dawn and the Relationships That Shape Our Healing
18 Plays9 days ago
In this episode of our series 'Stories That Shape Us', my friend Priscilla and I are breaking down Tower of Dawn, the book where the action is mostly physical therapy, political dinners, and a lot of walking (well, rolling). It's one of the most divisive books in the Throne of Glass series, and we get into why.
🚨 Major spoiler alert for Tower of Dawn and the entire Throne of Glass series!
What we explore in Chaol's healing arc:
- You can't fix your body without fixing your mental health - physical injury as manifestation of emotional wounds
- The right person appears after inner work - couldn't show up for Nesryn but could be vulnerable with Yrene
- Honesty builds foundations that last - Aelin relationship built on lies, Yrene's brutal honesty created real connection
We also talk about Nesryn's glow-up. She went from accepting a situationship to finding her roots, a supportive prince (Sartaq is perfect boyfriend energy), and saving the day on a giant eagle. Meanwhile, Chaol was down in the city learning to walk. Both needed their separate paths to grow.
Subscribe. Share. Remember that sometimes the stories we think are detours are exactly where we need to be.
Small steps, big healing. Keep growing! ✨
Join the conversation! Are you Team Chaol or did you skip this book? DM me on Instagram @YourCoachMari!
About my bestie Priscilla: Priscilla De Lara is originally from California now living in Milan, Italy working in international education. She is a lover of food, traveling, and reading! Fun fact: Priscilla was a college radio DJ. Connect with Priscilla on TikTok @priscillainitaly
💬 LET'S CONNECT:
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We might just have the same taste in books Check out my Book List (Bookshop affiliate)
🌱 LET’S GROW TOGETHER: Schedule your discovery call
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Growing With Soul'
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello beautiful souls and welcome back to another installment of the Growing With Soul podcast where we explore the moments and stories that shape who we're becoming. I'm Marisol and this is where I love to have real conversations about growth, self-discovery and learning to put yourself first.
00:00:17
Speaker
Whether we're diving into books that change our perspective or unpacking personal experiences that teach us something new, this podcast is for women who are done playing small and are ready to embrace their own journey.
00:00:29
Speaker
If you've struggled with putting everyone else first or battled self-doubt, you're in the right place. This isn't about perfection. It's about the messy, beautiful process of growing into yourself. So come grow with me.
Introduction to Guest and Series
00:00:42
Speaker
This episode is going to be the next installment of my Stories That Shape Us series. In this series within the podcast, this is where we talk about fiction and the stories that we can learn from them. And usually in my case, we're going to be talking about romanticcy and romance in general.
00:01:01
Speaker
This episode, I'm very happy and lucky that my BFF Priscilla is here to join me to talk about the next installment that we are doing.
Divisive Book Themes Discussion
00:01:09
Speaker
and So Priscilla, go ahead and introduce yourself. Say hi.
00:01:14
Speaker
Hi everyone, i'm Priscilla. And I don't think it's a secret, but this, I don't like kale. And least favorite book, but I came up with a funny hook for today's conversation because rereading this book made me realize how
00:01:42
Speaker
taxing it is. So I hope you like it. So today we're talking about a book where the action is mostly physical therapy, political dinners, and a lot of walking, um well, rolling. And yet somehow it's one of the most stressful books SJM has ever written.
Kael's Journey in 'Tower of Dawn'
00:02:03
Speaker
And I think I shared it in a past episode, but my first book read was me skimming it because I just was not invested.
00:02:17
Speaker
So I think this book really, I think, divides the fandom because it's half of us that aren't on the rehabilitation of Kale train and others that did get on and saw his growth.
00:02:35
Speaker
So I'm interested to see what the conversation is going to look like today. So I... As we all probably already know, I love Kale. I love him so much. um And I, you know, I had my gripes with him in the beginning. Okay, definitely the first book and also a Crown of Midnight.
00:02:58
Speaker
But, oh, and then Queen of Shadows, he was a bit of a douche. But I still love him. I still love him so much. And I really appreciated his development. So this should be a little bit interesting, but to give a little synopsis of the book itself,
00:03:13
Speaker
As you may already be aware, but if it's been a while since you've read Tower of Dawn, this is where we find ourselves completely immersed in Kael's story and his
Rehabilitation and Past Experiences
00:03:21
Speaker
healing. So he is on a desperate journey in the Southern continent seeking healing for his spinal injury, which has left him unable to walk. And he's also hoping to forge a crucial alliance with that empire.
00:03:34
Speaker
Kale undergoes grueling physical and emotional rehabilitation under the care of the brilliant healer, Irene Towers. And that is essentially where they work on old wounds, both visible and hidden.
00:03:45
Speaker
And they these also these traumas begin begin to surface as well. Meanwhile, Nezrin uncovers dark secrets about a growing threat within that could pretty much destroy everything they hold to dear.
00:03:59
Speaker
And with time running out and an ancient evil stirring in the shadows, Cale must confront his past, reclaim his strength, and prove that even broken things can be made whole again.
00:04:12
Speaker
So when it comes to Cale's story, ah we're going to be focusing on his development, but also with the development of the relationships that happened in this book. And like we mentioned, there's a lot of rehabilitation in the book, but I really saw Kale's trauma sort of twofold. Like there's very much that physical trauma that he has to his spine. He was partially healed by Rowan, like right when it happened at the end of the battle the previous book.
00:04:40
Speaker
And then he's fully healed by Irene and himself as well, because it took a lot of his own strength and inner work to heal himself physically.
Character Growth and Mental Health
00:04:51
Speaker
But i what I thought was, I don't i felt it was more tragic this time around when the second time I read it where he was re-injured in the exact same way by Duva, who was, um what's the word, possessed by the Velg?
00:05:06
Speaker
It was just like all of that work, all that emotional turmoil and strife and pain only to be re-injured in the exact same way again. And you're laughing.
00:05:19
Speaker
ah that is crazy work. okay No, because i Well, very well said, and I agree. But I just thought it was like a little tragic, like you said, but also a little funny that it took paralysis to make him introspective.
00:05:38
Speaker
I mean, to be a man, right? up to nothing No introspection until something happens to them. Like physical injury had to force him to stop and think for the first time in his life.
00:05:51
Speaker
that was only exact first time but i mean like to really really like dig deep because i think when you mentioned like his his injury i think really
00:06:07
Speaker
was like a manifestation of like why i disliked him like i feel like physically like it hit manifested that wound um
00:06:20
Speaker
And i i did like that it really showed that you can't fix your body without fixing your mental health, too.
Initial Disappointment with Book's Focus
00:06:29
Speaker
Which I appreciated. but yeah, when you were saying like how tragic it was, like yes, it was a little like tragic, but it was a little funny because, like you said, it took a that because he...
00:06:41
Speaker
was just so stubborn and I think it also made it better because when I first started reading the book and then I decided mentally to like very briefly skim it and kind of like skip the book, I'm wondering like,
00:06:58
Speaker
if you remember your initial reaction when you realized that this book wasn't going to show us what happened to Aelin because the book before like had such a cliffhanger.
00:07:11
Speaker
Yeah. um My initial reaction the first time I read it, i was disappointed because, again, that cliffhanger was so huge that I was just like, I need to see what happens next. Also, i i love Lorcan and Elite, so i was like, I want more of them too. Mm-hmm.
00:07:25
Speaker
But I was disappointed and then curious because it's a completely it's not like a spinoff of the main series, but like it kind of is a spinoff. It's about like, yeah. Yeah. so I was there's so much chaos and you're just like oh like, I need to know. And then you you read like the first 20 pages you're like, wait a minute.
00:07:50
Speaker
What's going on? Yeah, it's like it just goes between like his Pov and then Nezrin's Pov. And then I think we get Irene's point of view too. And you're just like, wait, where's Aelin in all of this?
00:08:01
Speaker
But in my opinion, it definitely was enjoyable and it paid off and it was worth the time to read the book. But I know that everybody feels that way. Yeah.
00:08:14
Speaker
But I definitely think in terms of like what you were saying with the not being able to heal yourself physically without the emotional aspect
Kael's Character Flaws and Redemption
00:08:24
Speaker
too. And also like not liking him. Like I understand. I fully understand why people don't like Kale. And honestly, it's valid.
00:08:33
Speaker
It's totally valid. i like him here's the thing like if kale were a real person i probably wouldn't like him but since he's a fictional character i love him like does that make sense that's fair so in terms of like him and his character i think what is great about him literarily is that like the reasons why we hate him are one, the reasons why he hates himself in the book, which he admits to hating himself. And also all the like negative aspects of who he is and who he has been are amplified by the injury and like the shadow of the Valg Prince that's in him.
00:09:19
Speaker
And like, that's like, he's a worse person through the healing process. Cause he does, and he says some horrible things, um But he's a worse person through that process because that like self-hatred that's amplified and the depression that's amplified by the injury and the shadow of the Vel Prince.
00:09:43
Speaker
Still don't like him.
00:09:46
Speaker
ah again valid i but i like how like if he was a real person you wouldn't like him but like to me there are other characters in the book that i love that i didn't feel the him lacking or like not not him lacking but like me needing to like him or like find and accept his redemption
00:10:11
Speaker
i feel like that's valid um i i kind of I guess you can kind of relate it to the dynamic the fandom has with Tamlin. like Some people have grown to still have love for Tamlin, and I've heard a lot of the theories around his character and like why we should have like sympathy for him, but I still don't.
Character Relationships and Dynamics
00:10:34
Speaker
yeah like I feel like it's kind of like that, maybe?
00:10:38
Speaker
i think so. I think it's a... it
00:10:44
Speaker
to call ru
00:10:47
Speaker
reflecting um that parallel for sure because I i don't like talent and I don't care to entertain the series I don't mind being proven wrong later you know maybe this this fall was like all the books coming out but I don't think we are going to be proven wrong. Like, did you did you see um the call her daddy interview with Sergei Mask? Not already, yeah.
00:11:19
Speaker
Spoiler alert for people who haven't seen that interview, but in the interview, she basically basically references that like a lot of people that she knows personally related to how Tamlin reflected their abusers.
00:11:32
Speaker
So like just from how she answered the question, it doesn't sound like she's interested in giving him a healing or redemption arc. Yeah. I'm not mad. no Yeah, me neither. Me neither. But i I guess because of that, I can see why people also just continue to not like Kale, which is cool.
00:11:50
Speaker
Totally cool. But for whatever reason, Kale did get a healing arc, quite literally. um So it's what we're talking about. Related to that, I'd like to circle back because I feel like it's in the book.
00:12:06
Speaker
were given an example of what should be, in my opinion, in the form of another character. Kale? Or Tamlin? No, Kale. So... Who?
00:12:19
Speaker
Sartak? I love him so much. And i want more of him. Because I... I remember that like him and Rezrin had this, like... What are they? like Are they together?
00:12:35
Speaker
We could see them become a couple, I think, at the beginning. yeah They were a total situationship from the beginning. And so I really liked how she kind of shone and like became like a lead instead of just like a side character.
00:12:53
Speaker
But I feel like
00:12:56
Speaker
in the book... Is it Sartak? Sartak? I said Sartok, but I never really said his name out loud before. I feel like he's depicted as like the perfect boyfriend, like supportive. He trusts Nezrin, lets her shine, which I feel like we didn't see that with Kale.
00:13:17
Speaker
And so i think for me, it was a way of jam showing us what a healthy relationship looks like because this book was such a hot mess the beginning and full of turmoil.
00:13:32
Speaker
and Yeah, I think that's one of the things that like i noticed the second time around that that I really paid much more attention to since I was looking at the book a little bit more critically and the relationships more critically.
00:13:46
Speaker
that with we got to i really appreciated how we got to see Nezrin also grow and change and really like embrace embraces her own like value as well, like her self-worth.
Nezrin's Development and Relationship
00:14:00
Speaker
Because from the very beginning, even in what Queen of Shadows, we like she had they already had their situationship. Like, Kale and Nezrin have a history of basically just being a hookup from the very beginning. Like, that's how they started, even before Kale got with Selina. So, like...
00:14:18
Speaker
so
00:14:22
Speaker
And she accepted that and kind of made reference to like, oh, well, this is this is what I'll take. I'll accept this, basically. And then she was able to see see that she deserved more through how Sartok treated her and like the possibility there, especially since her paths were diverging.
00:14:43
Speaker
Being in her home country, she was just like, I feel so at home here. like These are my people. this is... like Like, she's like the immigrant child going back home. Like, you know, like, I relate to that so much. And that that's what I, yeah, stood out to me more so this...
00:15:01
Speaker
this time around that I gave the book an actual chance because I felt like, yeah, like she again became a lead character in my mind. like She found her roots, found a prince, you know, hot boyfriend.
00:15:15
Speaker
She found a giant eagle to ride. She saved the day. Meanwhile, Kale was down in the city just like learning to walk. Oh my god.
00:15:25
Speaker
Yes, ah crucial it's a crucial life skill learning how to walk. Right, but it's like it was nice to see that switch up of like seeing her come into her own, especially because of how she had accepted to accept little before and just like take like have someone take the lead and give orders and i thought So in that in that regard, i thought it was beautifully done in terms of just like seeing the parallels.
00:15:59
Speaker
hu I think that one is one of the reasons why i really loved that storyline. But I also think that like,
00:16:11
Speaker
Like, if you look at it, like, all together, like, because you see how their situationship is just not the greatest in the beginning. And then they go and they find other people. yeah And then we see how she and Sartok are this, like, really good relationship.
00:16:27
Speaker
And then we also see how Irene and Kale begin this really good relationship and marriage. And just when you look at it all together, it's like, like, you really... You really can't, like, make someone be the right person for you, you know?
00:16:43
Speaker
Like, the right, like, they're going to be the right person when they finally do their own inner work. No matter how much, because, okay, first of all, Nesrit and Kael, like, they didn't show up for each other in the best ways, but they were still kind of there for each other, even if it was...
00:17:03
Speaker
lacking So we do see Nezrin being involved in the healing process or trying to be by asking a lot of questions. But then Kale resented her for that because he was like, I can do this on my own because he was going through his own inner turmoil.
00:17:17
Speaker
And so we see her still caring for him very much and still having not being in love with him, but having love for him and like for his well-being. But like they just they could never work. They were always clashing and hitting a wall with each other.
00:17:33
Speaker
and I do think a lot of that had to do with Cale just being in his head going through his own BS and like trauma and trying to work through it And even though, and that's the other thing, like, even though he was still going through all of that, like, when he met Irene, through that process, he was still able to form a bond with her because he was able to be vulnerable with her. He was able to open up with Irene, which he was unwilling to do with Nezrin. And I do think that that's just one of those things that, like...
00:18:04
Speaker
We can't fully pinpoint the reason why. And I think that's related to real life where like, if you've been in a relationship or a situation relationship that just didn't fucking work, no matter how hard you tried.
Honesty and Vulnerability in Relationships
00:18:17
Speaker
And then you see like, oh, now he's with somebody else. And they're like getting married, like girl, they're i can we can't tell you why. he probably can't even tell you why. Just people are able to show up when they choose to.
00:18:32
Speaker
And I think this is a good reflection of that. That and just like, it was very much like an um enemies to lovers too. So they weren't distracted by potential of something more happening.
00:18:50
Speaker
Which was, I think, nice to see, especially because you could see, again, the parallel of his relationship with Irene developing and how his relationship with Selena or Elin developed.
00:19:05
Speaker
based on lies and it's the total opposite with Irene. It's just based on honesty, her calling him out on his privilege, his past, her being angry in the beginning because he served a king that harmed her mother.
00:19:18
Speaker
So I think the fact that she called him out and was so brutally honest only in a way where you would be when you dislike someone or hate someone, you know, giving...
00:19:33
Speaker
can i cuss no shits um about the person but i thought that like it's not really the pin you can't pinpoint that as the reason but i think it definitely helped and again it it shows a different a stark difference in a relationship building compared to alien work Oh, 100%. I had it in my notes that like his breakup, and we could even include like his whole relationship, which was like a week, but his whole relationship with Aelin as part of his trauma.
00:20:09
Speaker
Because, I mean, they're young and you feel a lot in an unrestrained manner when you're that young. So I get it, fine. like You were in love and all that stuff. But like, I do think that's part of his trauma because that relationship and this supposed life he had wanted to have with her was all built on lies and like the disillusionment of having to then realize that this person was not who they were saying. And then even that persona was also a lie. And they're actually a completely different person.
00:20:43
Speaker
like entity, the whole different history and a completely different future that's meant for them than what you thought was going to be possible. So I could see how that is definitely traumatic, but I think that highlights the difference in like, if we look at, if we can take these stories and extrapolate like lessons from them, like what makes a relationship even have a good foundation?
00:21:08
Speaker
Being honest and, Not necessarily like challenging the other person, but that honesty with the vulnerability and presenting difficult conversations, which is what we saw with Irene and Kale and being able to work through those difficult conversations and be present for each other in your vulnerability was important.
00:21:32
Speaker
And then also... the respect for one another that we see with Nezrin and Sartok and also Sartok's ability to allow Nezrin to shine and to grow because he allowed her to shine because she's an amazing, um what's the word? Archer, right?
00:21:54
Speaker
Archer, yeah. um And then on top of that, like she, She never rode, what is it, the rooks? Eagles, the rook, I guess. Yeah. And then like, she'd never done that before, but then she like basically mastered it. And he just like allowed her to grow and just be amazing, even during the learning process. Like, yeah again, if we're extrapolating lessons, I think that's what we can start to pinpoint what these stories are showing us for relationships that actually work.
Sartak's Political Intrigue
00:22:25
Speaker
Side note on Sartak, he just, a great like, I want a book just about him. But did you feel like the politics of him and his family were like a little bit of a side, like reality show? Like who's gonna step whom in the back and like who's... ah Yeah. what What's that show I've seen clipped to Session?
00:22:51
Speaker
but but Oh, I've seen that whole show. It's so good. It felt like that a little bit.
00:23:01
Speaker
It definitely was. They had their own drama. The setup of the of like how their succession is supposed to be in terms of like their royalty is kind of weird and violent.
00:23:15
Speaker
yeah But like they seem to have figured it out, which is good. Who knows if that'll stick.
Magical Healing and Independence Debate
00:23:25
Speaker
I have one question that I don't know if there's a ah an answer to. But when looking at this being a book, a fantasy book, there's magic.
00:23:41
Speaker
Technically, we could they could have found like a magical cure in addition to the physical therapy that he did. um But I did like that after the Everything he went through, he does accept that you know he's just as much of a man in like the wheelchair as he was on his feet.
00:24:07
Speaker
But my question was whether or not like the message of being independent is undermined.
00:24:19
Speaker
by this life bond with Irene. like Making his ability to walk be dependent on her proximity.
00:24:32
Speaker
I think that would... That would depend on the whose independence are we talking about? like Kale's independence as an individual? Yeah, and him overcoming this...
00:24:46
Speaker
injury that turned into a disability. Acceptance. He can walk. But it's only if he's physically to Irene.
00:25:00
Speaker
It's almost like he's tethered. He's definitely tethered to her. i don't, I understood it as like, I don't, i don't know if it makes a difference to the question, but I understood it as like, they were like energetically tied to each other. Like they don't have to be close, like proximity wise, but like if Irene's tired, then like, he's not going to be able to stand.
00:25:22
Speaker
So like his ability to like stand and walk is dependent upon like her energy levels and like her magic levels is what I understood. Okay. I thought it was like physical proximity.
00:25:34
Speaker
No, maybe I misconstrued something, but I just thought it was based on her power. Like if she was a video game character, energy bar. you know? um but i feel But I think your question still stands in terms of, like, the independence because, you he is tied to her.
00:25:49
Speaker
And she's basically tied to him. I mean, we see um a parallel between this and, you know, in ACOTAR, where we basically have lives tied together and, like if one dies, the other one's going to die as well.
00:26:04
Speaker
So, in terms of, from from Kale's perspective, and maybe from Irene's too, but I feel like
00:26:14
Speaker
It is a maybe, and i don't know if allegory is the right word, or maybe a um and a symbolic of showing the theness the necessity or like how necessary community is and like one another.
00:26:34
Speaker
Because I mean, ultimately, like we we can't live in silos. We all need each other. And I feel like this is just a representation of how we very much need each other and lean on each other for success and in order to thrive and be, you know, functioning people.
Fantasy Elements and Multiverse Connections
00:26:52
Speaker
So maybe that could be a representation of that, but i don't think it under I don't think it undermines their independence because they within themselves talked about how they were going to manage it.
00:27:04
Speaker
And even Cale makes reference to like, hehewell you know if he can horse ride, he'll fight off the back of a horse or like figure out something in terms of like his wheelchair so that he can still function and be of use to their war and their cause.
00:27:21
Speaker
And then Irene goes and saves the day by killing Erewhon, so... You know? Speaking of Erewhon... May... Being revealed to a paladin
00:27:36
Speaker
queen. Right? um I can't help but... I don't remember where I saw it. It was a while ago. The...
00:27:50
Speaker
Comparison to ACOTAR
00:27:54
Speaker
with Maid Norey Sand.
00:27:57
Speaker
hu Like the conspiracy crossover theory. I love all those conspiracy theories. i not to like segue into like, you know, talking about ACOTAR fully, but as someone who...
00:28:15
Speaker
never loved Rhysand, I'm prone to seeing a lot more ah credibility to those theories of him being part Valg. No, honestly, it it it does seem really, really likely, which I think if he ends up being that, it's going to mean that being Valg is just not so one-dimensional as it's been made out to be In all honesty, and I really think Yeah, I think with Reese, if he is part Valk, it's probably going to be like so diluted over the generations, you know, that it won't be as intense as Maeve's Valkness.
00:29:00
Speaker
Yeah, but like if there is a multiverse connection, he's likely a connected to Maeve because the mind control of the spiders is very eerily close to his mind control. So...
00:29:13
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, because we're going to have to wait and see. What is it? Come October. Yeah.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:29:20
Speaker
yeah With that being said, this episode has come to an end. So if you have enjoyed it if you've been following along for a while, I definitely appreciate you. If you're new here and like what you heard, go ahead and give this a five star review and follow along.
00:29:37
Speaker
Also share it out with your bestie who's also read Tower of Dawn and the entire Thorn of Glass series. And additionally, i am a certified life coach. So if you would like support in any healing journey and growth that you are working on this year, definitely hit me up and schedule your very own discovery call with me through the link in the show notes.
00:29:57
Speaker
Until next time, keep growing and keep reading.