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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Deep story
This was such a sad story about childhood abuse, sexual assualt, and a girl trying to find herself. It was very well written and i enjoyed reading the real story. It didnt seem filtered at all. I did however struggle at times with the time changes from chapters. I also felt the ending left me hanging. I wamted to know more on were she went next.
This was such a sad story about childhood abuse, sexual assualt, and a girl trying to find herself. It was very well written and i enjoyed reading the real story. It didnt seem filtered at all. I did however struggle at times with the time changes from chapters. I also felt the ending left me hanging. I wamted to know more on were she went next.
medium-paced
dark
hopeful
sad
Wow. This was a really tough book to read, but I loved it. Keele Burgin, going by her birth name Kathleen, starts with horrific depictions of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, and the neglect and emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother. She describes the Catholic cult they belonged to that claimed that men had the spark of God in them, and women were subservient (why is it always Catholics in these books I read?) She describes her parents setting her up with a man to be her husband, and on their first date he rapes her (which she describes in vivid detail, so trigger warning?) Then she describes going to college and falling apart in all the ways that abused kids fall apart (drugs, sex, alcohol, etc). Then one night she almost dies, and the next day takes off into a monastery in the Canadian wilds where she learns to be herself and to love herself. Compared to the earlier chapters on abuse, the finding peace seemed a little rushed, but maybe you can't say much about that you just have to experience it or not. Or maybe it really was that fast. All told she was in Canada for a year. I really liked her descriptions of her emotions at times even wondering if she would die along with her, even though in the back of your head you know she doesn't die because she's writing a book later. The only thing I really didn't understand was why she told her parents where she was and didn't just disappear from their lives forever, although I take it from the name change and open ended ending to the book that she ultimately did disappear from their lives. Anyway, if you can handle detailed descriptions of abuse and rape, I highly recommend this book.
To be perfectly honest, I could not finish this book. I got through the first third and the type of abuse Keele Burgin experienced at the hands of her psychotic father was just unbearable. I can imagine that for some, if you can get through her personal experience, it is a book about resilience and survival.
I want to caution other readers that this book is triggering. I have not experienced abuse, verbal, physical or otherwise and the stories she tells of her childhood had my heart racing and my anxiety amped up to an 11. I felt so much despair with her story.
I don't say all this to conclude that the book is badly written or something you shouldn't read. It is not but I didn't read enough to actually recommend it.
I want to caution other readers that this book is triggering. I have not experienced abuse, verbal, physical or otherwise and the stories she tells of her childhood had my heart racing and my anxiety amped up to an 11. I felt so much despair with her story.
I don't say all this to conclude that the book is badly written or something you shouldn't read. It is not but I didn't read enough to actually recommend it.
Too many things left out. Complicated growing up - a bad dad. More later, tired Jenn.
Breathtaking
Beyond amazing. I could feel her pain and her releasing herself from guilt and shame. Such an amazing book! Definitely a must read
Beyond amazing. I could feel her pain and her releasing herself from guilt and shame. Such an amazing book! Definitely a must read
I applaud the author for having the courage to tell her story in her own way. I thought the last section at the Madonna House was written with the most feeling and emotion. That being said, there were huge chunks that were left out of her story leaving the reader unsatisfied. How did she wind up in Omaha while being controlled so completely by her father? The bond she had with Rachel was accentuated so much in part one, and then you never heard about her again. Or any of her siblings for that matter. And the again between Part 2 and 3- how in the Hell did she find herself on a bus to Canada, and what had happened between her overdose and that? Also, that Father Jim conversation towards the end made me sick. She just let him off the hook to prey on others who are in an extremely vulnerable state.
A heartbreaking look into ther life of a remarkably brave woman. Nobody sould have to face the scenes described in this tragic memoir and nobody should have to fight so hard to love themselves. This woman is as strong as they come and a true inspiration.