|| 4 ⭐️ ||

This may be the most depressing memoir I’ve ever read. Reading about Jeannette’s deeply dysfunctional family, her alcoholic father who wasn’t willing to sacrifice a thing to provide for his family, and a mother who preferred her hobbies over taking proper care of her children was all heartbreaking. The neglect was unreal. It makes me angry to know there are so many broken families similar to this one in the world, many hiding behind a façade and pretending even to themselves that everything is fine and normal. It made me particularly angry that her parents constantly downplayed her reports of being molested several times, brushing everything off and saying she was “tough” enough to handle these “minor” instances. 

I liked the literary choice to not get deep into introspection at all. Jeannette just told things exactly as they were, and that was enough to communicate all the feelings behind each moment of her childhood.