Dancing with the Octopus by Debora Harding is a poignant memoir that recounts the author's abduction and assault at aged 14, the abuse she suffered at the hands of her parents, and the ways in which these experiences shaped her adult life. 

📚 

Structured across multiple timelines, Harding explores how her various traumas intersected over the course of her life. She vividly details how unresolved trauma manifested in her life physically, and the coping mechanisms she utilised over the years. 

📚 

I went into this book unsure of what to expect, but I found Harding's account to be both frank and deeply moving. Unlike a lot of similarly themed fiction, Harding's real-life experience has no tidy resolution or easy takeaways, just resilience and a willingness to persevere. Harding's reflections on her relationships with her parents in the aftermath of the kidnapping were impressively reflective. I was, however, less convinced by the chapters that were written from her kidnapper's perspective, as they felt speculative and somewhat separate to the core narrative. 

📚 

Overall, Dancing with the Octopus is a reflective and thought-provoking memoir. While it deals with heavy subject matter, it is nonetheless an eye-opening and worthwhile read for anyone seeking insight into life after trauma. 

📚