Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

When the World Didn't End by Guinevere Turner

9 reviews

tkelley23's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

chovereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense

I devoured this.

this approach is one I have found in other memoirs -- writing about their childhood self, but staying in the perspective of that child without letting the adult they are now influence that writing. I really really like this. continue to seek it out. the use of the diary entries here was such an addition to the book, I can't imagine it without them.

one thing I got confused about was the dates of the diary entries. I'd forgotten the time period the book started in and the entries before she left the cult were dated '04. I guess I thought it was 2004 even though that didn't seem right. later when she's in public school, they randomly switch to 1980. I believe this was showing she was transitioning from the "Family's time" and that they tracked the years differently. 

my favorite part was when she recounted how she taped a scale from every fish that was caught the summer she lived in MA and recorded all the details in her diary. 

the book did end rather abruptly and it seemed a bit odd to not know more about what happened with the man who took her in and became her legal guardian in high school. but of course, she was writing about her escape, and with him, she was free.

very challenging and difficult subjects for some, check the content warnings! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Religious bigotry

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

4.5

Prior to reading Guinevere Turner's account of her childhood, I'd never heard of the Lyman family. Reading Turner's story though both retrospective reflection and direct quotes from journal entries from when the events she describes took place made her storytelling so immersive and the horrors she endured all the more gut wrenching.
The story starting with the failure of an ascension predicted by the leader of the cult Turner was born into was such an eye catching hook to being readers in, and while it primed me for some of what to expect for some of  he other Lyman family beliefs, other aspects of Turner's story were totally unexpected.
Guinevere Turner has a mastery of language and how to keep a reader invested that is tangible even in the diary excerpts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Rape, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Medical content, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Abortion

Minor: Death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

stargirlmolly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Blood, Eating disorder, Suicide, Stalking, Abortion, Cursing, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

daphnehumming's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

5.0

Terrific memoir it really does read like a novel. It is dark,

you really have to admire Guinevere’s perseverance and writing ability, both as a young person and today. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t truly look up until the end. I can only hope Turner decides to write a sequel.

for fans of I’m glad my mom died.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Homophobia, and Physical abuse

Minor: Death and Abortion

ckreads28's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

The writing was vivid and graphic and tore at me a bit. I thought it would be a bit more about the cult. It was more so to do with the author's fears, traumas, and bravery of the things she faced afterward. She is a survivor and I wish there was more safety to get help.  Hoping this story can create change for others to get the help they need. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, and Rape

dustghosts's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexism, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts

sarahweyand's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This book is HARD to read (or, in my case, listen to). The descriptions of Turner's sexual abuse as a child are unflinching and nauseating. Please be in the right headspace when giving this one a go. 

 I love reading about people's experiences in different religions, cults, or extreme lifestyles. I've read Educated, Unorthodox, Going Clear, The Glass Castle, etc. I liked the first part of this book more than the second, as it focused more on living within The Family and her experiences there. I found the second half interesting as well, but it felt a little more disjointed. 

This is one of the few books I've listened to where I would highly recommend the print version more.  The audiobook doesn't do a good job of differentiating what is happening at present and what is pulled from one of Turner's diaries, so it can be difficult to follow at times. 

Overall, I really liked the style of this book and the choice Turner made to write it from her perspective as a child without any adult retrospective or insights. If you're into the same genre of nonfiction/memoirs I listed above, I think you'll like this one too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

sshabein's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Guinevere Turner's memoir about her childhood split between growing up in the Lyman Family cult and later an abusive household with her mother, step-father, and siblings was a harrowing read, but an interesting one. Using her diaries as scaffolding, she writes from the perspective of her child-self and how she felt about what was happening to her at the time. Though I maybe would have liked a little more adult-self perspective near the end, I also understand that writing it this way makes it all the more clear what it's like to be in these situations, how your perspective gets warped by what the adults in your life are telling you. It's also wild how she was actually somewhat safer within a cult than she was living with her mother/step-father, though of course, living with the Family had its own share of problems. I'd be interested to read another memoir from Turner about how she navigated life after getting free from these terrible situations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Eating disorder