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anna_0319's review
Shouldn’t have gone for audiobook. I need to go over details and I just lose information this way.
tobysutton_long's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Whilst unfortunately many of the things Spencer shares in this book are particularly shocking (abuse going on and being covered up in boarding schools, quelle surprise), this was still quite a horrifying read. I deeply hope that the many victims of Maidwell and other similar institutions are able to use this to reach as close a form of closure as they can.
bargainsleuth's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to this book, narrated by the author.
Trigger warnings: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Physical abuse.
I appreciate Spencer coming forward to tell of his horrific time in boarding school in England in the 1970's. Some parts were deeply disturbing to listen to. I'm glad more and more people are talking about this subject. I could never imagine sending my kids away to school when they were so young. As history has shown, it was a very damaging experience to a great many people.
Trigger warnings: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Physical abuse.
I appreciate Spencer coming forward to tell of his horrific time in boarding school in England in the 1970's. Some parts were deeply disturbing to listen to. I'm glad more and more people are talking about this subject. I could never imagine sending my kids away to school when they were so young. As history has shown, it was a very damaging experience to a great many people.
robingriffiths17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
4.0
Fascinating read! Challenging at times, but worth the read
kimdowell's review
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
As Americans, many of us are not familiar with boarding schools, with the exception of the notorious Indian schools of past that ripped Indian children away from their homes and families. These schools inflicted great trauma upon the entire Native community through extreme sexual, physical and emotional abuse of the most vulnerable members of that community. In Spencer’s excellent book, we learn that the children of many British upper-class families were not protected from the same types of abuses during a time of unchecked power of many British private boarding schools. Spencer writes of the daily experiences of both himself and his contemporaries as they navigated the growth of their childhoods through an unrelenting prism of sadistic and morally corrupt boarding school leaders. Spencer is an excellent writer, setting us squarely in the frightening and confusing world he inhabited as a child. He further shows that no matter the years passed, great trauma remains. We all understand the difficulties that childhood and adolescence bring on its own accord. We have heard stories of the amplification of those difficulties in residential surroundings. But when coupled with unscrupulous leaders with unlimited power, no oversight and ill intent, we hopefully have now learned through the pain of so many, that change must happen. The honesty and strength to talk about events that too often render great shame throughout a lifetime is what changes systems. A huge thanks to Spencer for bravely laying bare the injustices he and so many others suffered.
Kim Dowell | Jail Screening Specialist
JusticePoint – Jail Screening Unit
425 Grove Street
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101