Author: Jane Elliott
File Type: mobi
From Publishers WeeklyThe charts are full of stories of childhood abuse now, Elliott writes, and speculates that fans of childhood abuse literature want to be shocked at the start of the book, crying in the middle and exultant at the end. Her account (Jane Elliott is a pseudonym) adds little that is fresh to the genre beyond that her [s]eventeen years was an astonishingly long time to have been systematically abused. A good part of this true story of a four-year-old girl who fell into the power of a man for whom evil was a relentless daily activity is devoted to the shockgraphic detail of her stepfathers physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Some readers will feel for Elliott as she continues to be victimized by a thoroughly amoral lunatic head of an incredibly dysfunctional family others may find that the explicit detail teeters perilously close to the pornography of violence and of sexual degradation. While Elliotts stepfather is eventually sentenced to 15 years, little exultancy follows until Elliott decides to tell her story and achieves British bestsellerdom. Elliotts account, written with Crofts, makes fascinating reading as one wonders, in page-turner fashion, whether anyone will stop this man from terrorizing his stepdaughter, her mother, her siblings and the entire neighborhood. The vagueness of time and place, however, raise disquieting questions about reality. (Aug.) br Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. ReviewAn inspirational page-turner. HeatThe devastating and moving true life story of Janes life. A powerful read. BestA tragic tale, yet filled with hope. WomanThis true story of an escape from a miserable childhood makes inspiring reading. Woman & Home