Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland by Gina DeJesus, Kevin Sullivan, Mary Jordan, Amanda Berry

3 reviews

plainjanethebookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Torture, Mental illness, Abortion, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

What an absolutely incredible read and account of the perseverance, hope, and strength of these two (/three) young women. I really love hearing these stories from the survivors perspective - their voices are so strong. I loved the layout and pacing of listening to this book as well. It was very easy to follow. Very well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Abortion, Death of parent, Self harm, and Misogyny

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, and Racism

natreviews's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

When I was 14, Amanda Betty, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from 2207 Seymore Avenue in Cleveland. The case was everywhere, that after 10 years of captivity they were free. Now, at 23, I read their story for the first time.

Firstly, I will comment on something outside of the book, but a big deal. Everyone knows who Amanda Berry is, very little (internationally) know who Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight are. This can be attributed to a phenomenon called "White Girl Missing" syndrome. This is essentially where a missing white woman/girl gets more media coverage than women of colour who go missing. This isn't apart of the book, but kept on popping up in my mind from what I know about the case. When you say Amanda's name, everyone knows who you're talking about, but not so much Gina and Michelle. Of course, this could also be attributed to the fact that Amanda was the first one to escape and made the 911 call, but just a bit of information to let your brain chew on.

Now onto the book. Emotionally, this is a hard read. I had to distance myself from what was written until the entries where they are in the hospital. I broke down crying there. It's so hard to read all of the violence they went through for those 10 years. You really need to emotionally turn off. The only thing that made me feel safe was knowing they made it out in the end. It's horrible reading these thoughts over the years, and knowing what they went through. Do I think we got everything? Of course not, nor are we owed that. 

I think every parent, woman, and girl has thought about this scenario. What if my child/I get kidnapped one day? What will happen? This story (I hope) brings hope that it might be okay in the end. During the book, Amanda actually mentions the Elizabeth Smart case, saying that if she made it for 9 months, I can at least do that. I hope this book brings hope to those parents of missing children, and I hope this story inspires those who are being held captive that there is hope of escape, even 9-11 years after you were kidnapped (9 years for Gina, 10 for Amanda, and 11 for Michelle).

I just send all of my love to Amanda, Gina, Michelle and their families, and hope that they get everything they deserve after going into hell and coming back to the living.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Racism