Book Review: Our Last Resort: A Novel by Clemence Michallon- Psychological Thriller

Hello, dear Readers,

My book review of Our Last Resort: A Novel by Clemence Michallon.

Title: Our Last Resort: A Novel

Rating:  5/5 Stars

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Author: Clemence Michallon

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: July 08, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages
Meet the Author: Clemence Michallon
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

From the bestselling author of The Quiet Tenant comes a propulsive new thriller: Fifteen years ago, Frida and her brother escaped a cult. Now her brother is the prime suspect in a murder investigation—and it isn’t the first time.

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE SUMMER: The New York Times, USA Today, Oprah Daily, Boston Globe, Marie Claire, Crimereads, Apple Books, Goodreads, Brit + Co, She Reads

“Clémence Michallon is one of the most daring, exciting new voices in psychological suspense; she writes page turners with stunning and surprising depths.” – #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell

"Thought-provoking and shocking. A perfect summer read.”—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of She's Not Sorry

Innocence doesn't bail you out; it just makes you easier to trap.

Frida and Gabriel arrive seeking a fresh start at the stunning Ara Hotel in the secluded desert of Escalante, Utah. Once so close they were able to finish each other’s sentences, they’ve grown apart in recent years after a sudden, unspeakable tragedy. Now, at the luxe resort, they are ready to reconnect between dips in the pool and hikes on spectacular desert trails. It all feels like paradise—until the dead body of a beautiful young woman who was vacationing at the Ara with her powerful, much older husband is discovered.

When the local police arrive and suspicion quickly falls on Gabriel, Frida is forced to revisit memories from their upbringing in a cloistered cult in upstate New York, their dramatic escape, and the scandal that followed. Frida’s belief in Gabriel’s innocence never wavered at the time, but now even she can’t ignore the evidence mounting against him.

Alternating between past and present timelines, Our Last Resort builds toward a shattering climax that uncovers the fate of the murdered Ara guest and poses the question: how well do we ever really know those we love? Taut, gripping, and intense, Clémence Michallon’s latest suspense novel is a nail-biter until the last page, cementing her status as a major new talent in the genre.

My Thoughts

I loved The Quiet Tenant; it was my favorite book of the year. So when I saw that another book from this same author was going to be published, I was so excited, especially when I was given access to this free ARC copy.

I wont go on and on telling you how great this book is, how much I loved it. I will just say, do yourself a favor and read it. You won't regret it. Another masterpiece story. I love her writing and the 2 POV's, going back and forth between the past and the present. 

Thank you Knopf and Netgalley, for the free ARC copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy  

Book Review: Scarred: A Memoir of a Childhood Stolen and a Life Reclaimed by Clark Fredericks-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Scarred: A Memoir of a Childhood Stolen and a Life Reclaimed by Clark Fredericks.

Title: Scarred: A Memoir of a Childhood Stolen and a Life Reclaimed.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Clark Fredericks

Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 29, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 272 Pages

Meet the Author: Clark Fredericks

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A memoir of trauma and transformation by a man who was haunted by childhood abuse but who fought his way back—a journey from vengeance and prison to freedom and redemption.

For a boy growing up in the 1970s, rural northern New Jersey was a year-round playground, filled with secret fishing holes, enchanted woods, and private trails to explore with friends. But this childhood idyll was snatched from Clark Fredericks by a man he regarded as a local hero: Dennis Pegg, the town’s Boy Scout leader, a law enforcement officer with the Sussex County Sheriff’s Department, and, as Fredericks would discover, a serial predator.

Through his teenage years and young adulthood, Fredericks kept silent about the horrific abuse he experienced, turning to drugs, alcohol, gambling, and sex addiction to numb the memory. For decades, he remained tormented by shame, unable to share the secrets that were eating away at his psyche—until he violently confronted his abuser.

At once heartbreaking and uplifting, Scarred is the story of a man who overcame the destructive aftereffects of violence and abuse that nearly destroyed him. Now an advocate for victims and a prominent voice in support of child abuse law reform, Fredericks powerfully illustrates the healing power of love and trust.

My Thoughts

This was one book that gave me all the feelings. I was heartbroken, furious, relieved, happy, sad, excited.

It is just mind-blowing when a book can make you feel all those things. The story is not a happy one at the beginning but turns out a very inspiring one at the end, one success story to be celebrated. I just love and appreciate when authors are so honest, raw and vulnerable. It makes us see that every bad situation can be turn out in a good one if we are willing to change.

In the case of Clark Fredericks, an early life of sexual abuse, then drugs, alcohol abuse, gambling, and then murder, the ultimate sin, how he overcame all those situations, with the help of other people and how now he helps others. Truly and unbelievable story with an inspiring and healing message of hope for others.

Thank you, Atria Books and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Don't Let Him In: A Novel by Lisa Jewell- Suspense Thriller

Hello, dear Readers,

My book review of Don't Let Him In: A Novel by Lisa Jewell.

Title: Don't Let Him In: A Novel

Rating:  4/5 Stars

Genre: Suspense Thriller

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication Date: June 24, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 368 pages
Meet the Author: Lisa Jewell
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A MOST ANTICIPATED SUMMER READ from People, USA TODAY, theSkimm, E! News, Forbes, New York Post, CrimeReads, and many more!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell, three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

My Thoughts

I love Lisa Jewell and will read everything she writes; however, this book in particular was not as awesome as her other books. 

Mainly, for me, because I felt like a lot of the story was not necessary. It felt never-ending at times. It took me a lot to start getting into the story, but once I did, it got a little better. Slow-paced and different from other stories, the different time lines made it really hard to get through it. Like I said, I love her books and will continue reading, I just didn't love this one that much. 

Thank you, Atria Books and Netgalley, for the Free Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy 

Book Review: A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb by Tiffany Jenkins-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb by Tiffany Jenkins.

Title: A Clean Mess: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Tiffany Jenkins

Publisher: Rodale Inc./Harmony
Publication Date: June 03, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 304 Pages

Meet the Author: Tiffany Jenkins

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

The bestselling author of High Achiever chronicles life after addiction—the raw, the dark, and the hilarious—from setting out with nothing but a backpack to discovering her marriage was built on a shakier foundation than she’d ever imagined to staying sober when life fell apart.

“Tiffany Jenkins illustrates that recovery is not just about sobriety, but about learning to live and feel again. Her compelling story is a testament to the power of resilience, humor, and hope.”—Sarah Levy, author of Drinking Games

A Clean Mess opens with the moment that changed everything. Tiffany is about to go on stage when she receives an odd message from her husband: “Hey Babe, some of the guys here are making some stupid decisions. Not me. But I just wanted to let you know in case you heard it from some of the other wives.” By the end of the night, Tiffany knew her life would never be the same.

This wasn’t the first time she had to start over. After the opioid addiction and jail sentence that she chronicled in her bestselling memoir, High Achiever, Tiffany was ready for a fresh start. A chance to try life again, this time without drugs coursing through her veins. In A Clean Mess, she takes us back to those early days of recovery, and the whirlwind that she entered the moment she was out of prison. In just two years, she went from inmate to married and sober mom of three.

Told with humor and honesty, A Clean Mess is Tiffany Jenkins’s story of how she learned to live and feel for the first time without numbing herself with drugs—and how she discovered inner reserves of strength she didn’t know she had. From her tentative first days of sobriety, to seeing two pink lines on a pregnancy test weeks later, to navigating anxiety, a new marriage, and motherhood at the same time, to surviving betrayal and divorce, Jenkins shows how she got through it all when her crutches and Band-Aids were taken away from her. An inspiring memoir that reads like fiction, A Clean Mess is a book that will buoy anyone seeking a life raft in hard times.

My Thoughts

I have relatives who have gone through drug/alcohol abuse. I know from experience, by looking at their situations, that it's never a good place to be. Only the people going through all those issues understand what it is like, and also what it is like to go into recovery. 

This is one reason I loved A Clean Mess. How the author shares her story and that of her loved ones in such an honest, raw, and vulnerable way. Understanding from the people who are experiencing those situations gives us a better picture of what they go through and how it affects them and the people around them. Although I can't relate to these problems, I loved the story and how the author wrote the book and shared her life experiences. 

Thank you, Rodale Inc. /Harmony and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales.

Title: Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales.

Publisher: Atria/Primero Sueno Press
Publication Date: May 13, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 256 pages

Meet the Author: D. Esperanza & Gerardo Ivan Morales

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

“A shocking and moving read. A brutally honest account of the impact of family separation at the US border.”—Kirkus Reviews

The first-ever memoir of a child’s experience in detention on the US/Mexico border under President Trump’s infamous family separation policy.

D Esperanza was just thirteen years old when he lost his caregivers, his beloved grandmother and uncle. Since both of his parents were working and living in the United States, D was left on his own in a small town in Honduras. He quickly realized he simply could not make enough money to survive so he made the difficult decision to head north with his cousins and hopefully reunite with his parents in el norte.

Together, the boys struggled to survive a long and treacherous journey through Central America and Mexico. Along the way, D and his cousins formed a deep bond, only for the four to be brutally separated at the border of the United States. When he is captured and processed at a facility, neither D nor his family are given an update on when he will be released or where he’ll go next. Over the next five months, he kept a journal of his experience. The pages tell a story of pain, cruelty, friendship, and resilience, a living testament to the reality of the border. Amidst the senseless inhumanity and violence of US immigration policy, D found hope in the friendship he and his fellow companions forged, and mentorship from one intrepid advocate who fought on his behalf named Gerardo Iván Morales.

Timely, powerful, and unforgettable, Detained brings the border crisis to vivid life.

My Thoughts

When I thought I had read the most heartbreaking memoir, Detained comes.

Oh my God, what a book. What a story. What a journey. I swear, I will never understand why people go through certain things in life, especially children and young people who have not done anything bad except want a better life, and in this case, be with their parents. 

First of all, I love where this book came from. From a composition book, nothing fancy, computer, or fancy writing device, just a boy and his notebook. Not a professional writer, but one with love and passion for writing. This is one of the most beautiful and honest ways to keep track of what you are going through, just the thought of D. Esperanza wanting to write about the most horrific, terrible, horrible time of his life, not just bravery, but vulnerability. Most adults have a hard time being honest with themselves, much less with the rest of the world. 

When we are not living what others are or near the chaos, desperation, and nasty stuff, it is always easy to read a book like Detained and think, "Oh, I can't believe this is happening. Why can't they stop it?. Why are they doing this to children?. It is always easy to distance ourselves from those suffering, as if something were happening in another world. Reality is, it is happening here, in this world, in this country, and make no mistake, it is real, those children are being treated like they are criminals, wild animals that they have to tame, not like human beings whom the only thing they want is what most people want and take from granted, love, respect, and the love and care from their parents. 

Even though D. Esperanza's story is unique in the sense that he was able to document it, unfortunately, is the reality of hundreds of thousands of kids, that after crossing the border in the most dangerous, horrific conditions, they end up in the hands of the US Authorities, put on these detention centers, in the most inhumane conditions, where is either being taken back to the country they came from or if they are lucky enough be reunited with their parents in the United States. 

I could go on about this book, but I truly think it is one of those books that you have to read to experience to fully understand and see the realities of a system that, unfortunately, is not treating these children and immigrants in general as they should be, as human beings. 

A must-read, definitely. 

Thank you, Atria/Primer Sueno Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change by Cristina Jimenez-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change by Vicky Cristina Jimenez.

Title: Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Cristina Jimenez

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 27, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages

Meet the Author: Cristina Jimenez

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A MacArthur “Genius” shares her inspiring story, from undocumented newcomer to leader in a powerful immigrant youth movement.

Dreaming of Home is a coming-of-age story for both a young woman finding her true self and a social movement of immigrant youth trailblazers who inspired the world and changed the lives of millions.

Cristina Jiménez’s family fought to stay afloat as Ecuador fell into a political and economic crisis. When she was thirteen, her family came to the US seeking a better life, landing in an overcrowded one-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York. She lived in fear of deportation and ashamed of being undocumented, but eventually, Cristina discovered she was not alone. She made it into college when students and advocates won a change in the law, allowing undocumented students to access higher education. She was proud to be the first one in her family to go to college, but she felt out of place until she met professors and student activists who opened a new world where she found her calling within a community of social justice organizers.

With deep candor and humor, Cristina shows us what it’s like to grow up undocumented and the reality that being a “good” immigrant doesn’t shield you from systemic racism, danger―or even the confusion of falling in love. She invites us to acknowledge the America that never was and to imagine the America that could be when everyday people come together, build power, and fight for change, even when the world around us seems to be crumbling.

My Thoughts

I LOVED LOVED this Memoir. I devoured it in a few days. 

One of the things I loved was how the author delivered a beautifully written story, as well as all the information we get to absorb in the process of her telling us her story. About immigrants, immigration, the American dream, the difficulties many immigrants experience in this country, but also all the ways that they fight for their rights, and the very thing to exist in this country, although heartbreaking and sad, but an essential and important book, especially in the times we are living in. 

It is also a source of inspiration and of hope, and to encourage others to help in this fight that can feel like a never-ending cycle. 

Overall, I loved this book.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Out-Classed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back by Joan C. Williams-Non-Fiction

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Out-Classed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back by Joan C. Williams.

Title: Out-Classed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Non-Fiction/Economic Conditions

Author: Joan C. Williams

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 20, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 368 pages

Meet the Author: Joan C. Williams

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

An eye-opening, urgent call to mend the broken relationship between college and non-college grads of all races that is driving politics to the far right in the US.

Is there a single change that could simultaneously protect democracy, spur progress on climate change, enact sane gun policies, and improve our response to the next pandemic? Yes: changing the class dynamics driving American politics.

The far right manipulates class anger to undercut progressive goals and liberals often inadvertently play into their hands. In Outclassed, Joan C. Williams explains how to reverse that process by bridging the “diploma divide”, while maintaining core progressive values. She offers college-educated Americans insights into how their values reflect their lives and their lives reflect their privilege. With illuminating stories ―from the Portuguese admiral who led that country’s COVID response to the lawyer who led the ACLU’s gay marriage response (and more)― Williams demonstrates how working-class values reflect working-class lives. Then she explains how the far right connects culturally with the working-class, deftly manipulating racism and masculine anxieties to deflect attention from the ways far-right policies produce the economic conditions disadvantaging the working-class. Whether you are a concerned citizen committed to saving democracy or a politician or social justice warrior in need of messaging advice, Outclassed offers concrete guidance on how liberals can forge a multi-racial cross-class coalition capable of delivering on progressive goals.

My Thoughts

A lot of information, but well-organized and well-explained. Fascinating and very informative. 

I appreciate the author's effort to put together all the information, specially in the times we are living in, very relevant book. In an America so divided politics wise, it is always good to be informed and well-educated on topics that affect all of us one way or another. 

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Poetry Is Not A Luxury: Poems For All Seasons by Anonymous-Poetry

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Poetry Is Not A Luxury: Poems For All Seasons by Anonymous.

Title: Poetry Is Not A Luxury: Poems For All Seasons

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Poetry

Author: Anonymous

Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication Date: May 06, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 176 Pages

Meet the Author: Anonymous

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

From the creator of the beloved @PoetryIsNotaLuxury Instagram account, a gorgeously wrought poetry anthology that is a gift and a guide for readers through every season of life.

Inspired by writer and philosopher Audre Lorde’s famous claim: “Poetry is not a luxury,” this anthology proves the vitality of poetry as a crucial source of inspiration, comfort, and delight.

In a first section, “Summer,” you’ll find lush landscapes and love poems for weddings and anniversaries, alongside poems on travel, protest, and expressions of sheer joy and exhilaration. “Autumn” ushers in nostalgic poems about home and family and friendship, fall leaves, nesting and gratitude. You may turn to “Winter” should you require a poem for mourning, some lyrics for loneliness, or an ode to comfort. Rounding out a year’s worth of verse is “Spring,” in which you’ll discover celebratory poems, in the form of praise for rain and flowers, new beginnings, and all that the future might hold.

Each poem within has been chosen from centuries of verse from around the world, with an emphasis on living poets. Friends old and new await, with selections from Rita Dove, Victoria Chang, Ross Gay, Naomi Shihab Nye, C.D. Wright, Eileen Myles, Ada Limón,Ross Gay, Ilya Kaminsky, Jos Charles, and more.

From love poems to elegies, from the heights of new love to the furrows of anxiety, from special occasions to a morning pick-me-up, there is something here for longtime poetry lovers and novices, in any season of need.

My Thoughts

Poetry Is Not A Luxury is one of the best poetry books I have ever read.

I love how the book is divided by the seasons of the year, and how each season is represent so well with each poem. 

There were poems that made cried, so deep and understanding of the feelings we all experience at some point in our lives. Other poems, though short ones but very powerful.

It makes my heart happy to have access to these type of books. I love poetry, reading it and writing it. Having a book like this as a reference, as an inspiration to my mind, heart and soul, fills me with hope, and makes me want to continue writing poetry and give my feelings and thoughts a voice. 

Thank you, Washington Square Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: Boat Baby: A Memoir by Vicky Nguyen-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Boat Baby: A Memoir by Vicky Nguyen.

Title: Boat Baby: A Memoir

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Vicky Nguyen

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: April 01, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages

Meet the Author: Vicky Nguyen

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

In a memoir where heroism meets humor, NBC News anchor and correspondent Vicky Nguyen tells the story of her family’s daring escape from communist Vietnam and her unlikely journey from refugee to reporter with laughter and fierce love.

Starting in 1975, Vietnam’s “boat people”—desperate families seeking freedom—fled the Communist government and violence in their country any way they could, usually by boat across the South China Sea. Vicky Nguyen and her family were among them. Attacked at sea by pirates before reaching a refugee camp in Malaysia, Vicky’s family survived on rations and waited months until they were sponsored to go to America.

But deciding to leave and start a new life in a new country is half the story…figuring out how to be American is the other. Boat Baby is Vicky’s memoir of growing up in America with unconventional Vietnamese parents who didn’t always know how to bridge the cultural gaps. It’s a childhood filled with misadventures and misunderstandings, from almost stabbing the neighborhood racist with a butter knife to getting caught stealing Cosmo in the hope of learning Do You Really Think You Know Everything About Sex?

Vicky’s parents approached life with the attitude, “Why not us?” In the face of prejudice, they taught her to be gritty and resilient, skills Vicky used as she combatted stereotyping throughout her career, fending off the question “Aren’t you Connie Chung?” to become a leading Asian American journalist on television. She delivers a uniquely transparent account of her life, revealing how she negotiated her salary in a competitive industry, the challenges of starting a family, and the struggle to be a dutiful daughter.

Funny, nostalgic, and poignant, Boat Baby is a testament to the messy glue that bonds a family. In the tradition of We Are Dreamers by Simu Liu and Dear Girls by Ali Wong, Vicky Nguyen offers an optimistic story full of heart that illuminates the promise of what America can be.

My Thoughts

I LOVED Boat Baby. 

One reason I did love it was the writing. The way Vicky tells her story through the pages. It is so beautiful but, at the same time, raw, vulnerable, and honest. 

The story, at first might seem unbelievable, the way the flew Vietnam, the boat, and the waiting, to be able to come to the United States, but I strongly believe, Vicky and her family were meant to be here, and even though it was clearly not easy, but I am happy for her and her family that they made it, and how Vicky's career blossomed and now we have the pleasure to read her story.

Her love story, her relationship with her husband, is something else I loved. Trough it all, definitely. And how Vicky despite everything, always made sure her parents were well taken care of. 

Overall, I loved this book. A very good example of resilience, sacrifice, family and love.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

Book Review: The Tell: A Memoir by Amy Griffin-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of The Tell: A Memoir by Amy Griffin

Title: The Tell: A Memoir

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Amy Griffin

Publisher: The Dial Press
Publication Date: March 11, 2025

Language: English

Hardcover: 288 pages

Meet the Author: Amy Griffin

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • An astonishing memoir that explores how far we will go to protect ourselves and the healing made possible when we face our secrets and begin to share our stories

“A beautiful account of the journey of courage it takes to face the truth of one’s past.”—Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score

For decades, Amy ran. Through the dirt roads of Amarillo, Texas, where she grew up; to the campus of the University of Virginia, as a student athlete; on the streets of New York, where she built her adult life; through marriage, motherhood, and a thriving career. To outsiders, it all looked, in many ways, perfect. But Amy was running from something—a secret she was keeping not only from her family and friends, but unconsciously from herself. “You’re here, but you’re not here,” her daughter said to her one night. “Where are you, Mom?” So began Amy’s quest to solve a mystery trapped in the deep recesses of her own memory—a journey that would take her into the burgeoning field of psychedelic therapy, to the limits of the judicial system, and ultimately, home to the Texas panhandle, where her story began.

In her search for the truth, to understand and begin to recover from buried childhood trauma, Griffin interrogates the pursuit of perfectionism, control, and maintaining appearances that drives so many women, asking, when, in our path from girlhood to womanhood, did we learn to look outside ourselves for validation? What kind of freedom is possible if we accept the whole story and embrace who we really are? With hope, heart, and relentless honesty, she points a way forward for all of us, revealing the power of radical truth-telling to deepen our connections—with others and ourselves.

My Thoughts

This is one of the best memoirs I have read recently. 

I honestly was not expecting the main event to be. TW: Sexual Abuse, rape, childhood trauma. 

I was so intrigued by the start of the book and how the author runs, literally and metaphorically, and how by doing that, by putting herself through high standards of perfectionism and always wanting to do everything right, her mind, herself was able to suppress the trauma of her childhood of being sexually abused by her teacher. 

It was also interesting to learn how she was able to "recover" or remember all those memoirs through MDMA therapy and how observations made by her daughters helped her to realize and start her own healing journey. Her relationship with her family is one of the most touching elements throughout the book.

Thank you, The Dial Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy