Book Review: Such A Pretty Picture: A Memoir by Andrea Leeb-Memoir

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Such A Pretty Picture: A Memoir by Andrea Leeb.

Title: Such A Pretty Picture

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Author: Andrea Leeb

Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication Date: October 14, 2025

Language: English

Paperback: 280 Pages

Meet the Author: Andrea Leeb

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

For readers of I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy and The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, a candid and heart-wrenching memoir about child abuse, family secrets, and the healing that begins once the truth is revealed and the past is confronted.

Andrea is four and a half the first time her father, David, gives her a bath. Although she is young, she knows there is something strange about the way he is touching her. When her mother, Marlene, walks in to check on them, she howls and crumples to the floor—and when she opens her eyes, she is blind. Marlene’s hysterical blindness lasts for weeks, but her willful blindness lasts decades. The abuse continues, and Andrea spends a childhood living with a secret she can’t tell and a shame she is too afraid to name.

Despite it, she survives. She builds a life and tells herself she is fine. But at age thirty-three, an unwanted grope on a New York City subway triggers her past. Suddenly unable to remember how to forget, Andrea is forced to confront her past—and finally begin to heal.

This brave debut offers honest insight into a survivor’s journey. Readers will feel Andrea’s pain, her fear, and her shame—yet they will also feel her hope. And like Andrea, they will come to understand an important truth: though healing is complicated, it is possible to find joy and even grace in the wake of the most profound betrayals.

My Thoughts

TW: This book contains themes of sexual abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, physical and psychological abuse, suicide, and alcoholism. 

This was such a heartbreaking story to read. I just wanted to grab Andrea out of the pages, give her a hug, and tell her how loved she is. She was craving so much love and forgiveness from her mother; it was just so painful and hard to read.

I was also furious at the parents, one for perpetrating the abuse and the other for choosing the abuser over her own daughter, time and time again. However, I think it was good that Andrea was able to have some sort of closure with her mother. 

It was very mind-blowing to hear a child admitting that at such a young age, they were thinking of dying, of being gone forever. Still, on the other hand, I can only imagine the level of stress and abuse and confusion the author was going through because of the abuse, that she could not see any other choice. 

I appreciated the author's honesty, vulnerability, and raw storytelling. 

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

Wendy