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kiracat13's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly honest and moving. I think many people with difficult childhoods and family relationships could appreciate and relate to this memoir.
peripetia's review against another edition
2.0
In the beginning, I thought this memoir was just kind of ok. I thought it was going to be about estrangement, but as the pages dragged on, with sentence after monotonous sentence describing what she did and what she did then and what she did then, the narrative didn't move anywhere. It became repetitive. With every page, the privileges that she took for granted and didn't even seem to understand and her absolute self-centeredness just got more and more annoying.
I want to make one thing (or two) clear: she was not at fault for the abuse she faced, and she doesn't owe anyone forgiveness. She might be unable to forgive, and that's normal. You can't just choose to forgive or to let go. You don't have to go back to the people who hurt you.
But for the love of... I have too many complaints. Let's just conclude by saying that this is not a good memoir and I can't recommend it to anyone.
I want to make one thing (or two) clear: she was not at fault for the abuse she faced, and she doesn't owe anyone forgiveness. She might be unable to forgive, and that's normal. You can't just choose to forgive or to let go. You don't have to go back to the people who hurt you.
But for the love of... I have too many complaints. Let's just conclude by saying that this is not a good memoir and I can't recommend it to anyone.
debi_g's review against another edition
Estrangement is difficult to explain or justify to the “but they’re your family!” folks; to do so, a more potent book is needed.
deckle_edged_dre's review against another edition
3.0
2.5*
This is a tough one to review. I applaud the author for speaking up about her story, I think it could be really helpful for someone to read who may be going through a similar situation.
The issues I had with the book is that there seemed to be a lack of focus with the writing. It jumped around a lot. Very short little sections about events. Too many different friends being talked about briefly and then later on mentioned again like we should remember exactly who they were. I was mostly frustrated in the middle section but I was quite happy with the last bit and hearing about how Jessica stood her ground with cutting off contact, no matter how difficult it was to continue doing so.
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Description: Traces the author's abuse-marked childhood and how her adult decision to separate herself from her family of origin redefined her understandings of estrangement, survival and healing.
Genre: Autobiographies and memoirs; Family and Relationships; Life stories
Storyline: Issue-oriented
Tone: Hopeful; Reflective
Writing Style: Candid
This is a tough one to review. I applaud the author for speaking up about her story, I think it could be really helpful for someone to read who may be going through a similar situation.
The issues I had with the book is that there seemed to be a lack of focus with the writing. It jumped around a lot. Very short little sections about events. Too many different friends being talked about briefly and then later on mentioned again like we should remember exactly who they were. I was mostly frustrated in the middle section but I was quite happy with the last bit and hearing about how Jessica stood her ground with cutting off contact, no matter how difficult it was to continue doing so.
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Description: Traces the author's abuse-marked childhood and how her adult decision to separate herself from her family of origin redefined her understandings of estrangement, survival and healing.
Genre: Autobiographies and memoirs; Family and Relationships; Life stories
Storyline: Issue-oriented
Tone: Hopeful; Reflective
Writing Style: Candid
thuglibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
You truly never know what goes on in the homes of your neighbors and friends do you? This book is a perfect example of how little we do know about the people around us and the abuse that might be going on. Jessica is from the typical, nice Jewish home, (it even has a pool!) but one in which abuse occurs on an almost daily basis. Jessica's father is physically and emotionally abusive to her and during these periods of torment, her mother is just. silent. Similar to The Glass Castle, but one in which the child/victim comes to term with her abuse and changes the narrative.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
I read an advance copy and was not compensated.
jesabesblog's review
3.0
Like sitting down with a close friend and having her confide in you about her life. The kind of writing that seems effortless, but is actually rare and difficult to get right.
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, but ended with 3 because, overall, the story felt incomplete. Like even though your friend is telling her life story, she's trying to make it quick so it doesn't drag on all night. Maybe I just need to get used to the 'kindle short' format.
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, but ended with 3 because, overall, the story felt incomplete. Like even though your friend is telling her life story, she's trying to make it quick so it doesn't drag on all night. Maybe I just need to get used to the 'kindle short' format.
kgee19's review
2.0
I had higher hopes for this book. Maybe my expectations were too high, but the writing was just ok. The story, while terrible that it happened, wasn't laid out in a way that made it seem memoir-worthy. Yes, it's a short. But it seems better fitted to be even shorter, focusing on the healing, and published in Real Simple or something. Or longer with better developed stories and people. It was just an awkward length for the heavy subject matter.
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