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This memoir is terrifying, heartbreaking, and also like a beautiful dream - We are drawn into the child's world of being "loved" by and loving their abuser. It also speaks to the neglect that left Margaux vulnerable to abuse. You won't find a happy ending in this book. After publishing one book, this bestseller, Margaux died of ovarian cancer at 38; statistically, survivors of CSA have shortened lifespans (like anyone with ACEs, or Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Margaux's "score" is very high). Even though this book will rightly sicken most people, it can help us learn how predators get close to our families, some of the warning signs, and the complex ways children respond to CSA. I read this book during a period of studying the causes and effects of CSA; I definitely recommend "Childhood Disrupted," Donna Jackson Nakazawa; and maybe "Conversations With A Pedophile."
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Tiger, Tiger is a deeply upsetting memoir that demonstrates how sexually deviant individuals are not always simply the big scary boogeyman monsters we want to believe they are, but rather normal everyday people who are just as every bit human as the rest of us. Fragoso does an incredible job at expressing the complex feelings that many survivors struggle to confront both during and after their abuse, specifically the confusion and anger that comes with recognizing that what they once believed to be a normal, loving relationship was in reality a product of grooming and manipulation.
This is an extremely difficult memoir that forces readers to confront the reality of what child sexual abuse can and does look like outside of the horror stories we hear via true crime, the news, movies, and the internet. This is not a memoir that should be picked up by those who are currently struggling with unresolved trauma. This is not a memoir that should be picked up and read for shock value or morbid curiosity.
That being said, this was an easy 6 star memoir that I never want to read again. RIP Margaux Fragoso.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Gaslighting
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Gaslighting
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse
Minor: Bullying, Rape