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mondovertigo's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy and Animal cruelty
sshabein's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Eating disorder
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