Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

American Daughter: A Memoir by Stephanie Thornton Plymale

4 reviews

shelbitedeschi's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Classism, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Gaslighting, Torture, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Violence

swiss_miss_73's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Child abuse

araeofbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

Let me start off by saying that content warnings abound in this memoir. Be aware there is child abuse, rape, molestation, death, cancer, drug abuse, and mental illness abound throughout this book. This is all to say that the author and her mother both had very difficult childhoods and that translates into a very difficult read. 

We meet the author, Stephanie Thornton Plymale, in middle age as a successful interior designer and owner of a design school. We learn that she has modeled her life on being the opposite of her mother in every way. Her mother was often unstable throughout Stephanie’s childhood, in and out of mental institutions and prison, with an array of boyfriends and often spouting off nonsensical delusions. This left Stephanie and her siblings in and out foster care situations and with no stability in their early lives. 

The first part of this book really focuses on Stephanie’s early years, her contentious relationship with her mother, the difficulties in her marriage. It was hard to get through. What I found most fascinating was the second part of the book. Her mother is ill and Stephanie sees this as her chance to interview her mother to learn more about her childhood memories and ask about her heritage that have always been unknown. Stephanie learns more about her mother’s younger years and comes to understand her mother in a way she never has, and that allows her to find compassion for her mother. 

I thought the end of this book was a beautiful story about forgiveness and understanding our parents as people with their own difficult lives, though I think everyone should know going in that it is a really hard life story and it might not be good for every reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Racism, Car accident, and Miscarriage

readalotwritealot's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

5.0

“Find a way to be the love you didn’t get.”

Stephanie Thornton Plymale endured poverty, neglect, a mentally unhealthy mother, sexual assault and more during her childhood. But thankfully she found her husband and, with his help, became the love she didn’t get as a child.

I’m a huge fan of memoirs and I highly recommend this one that highlights how the systems of this country are failing many. This one has been compared to The Glass Castle and I can see why—I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse and Mental illness