A Beautiful, Terrible Thing by Jen Waite #Review @jenwaite4444 @PlumeBooks

I’m not sure how long I had this ARC before I started reading it, but it was apparently long enough for me to forget it was a memoir. It happens sometimes, but I usually remember once I start reading. As I read it over the weekend, I was convinced I was reading an engrossing psychological thriller… until I read the acknowledgements at the end. That’s when I realized I was actually reading a memoir. All of this actually happened. The chill that went through me at this realization was far more intense than the ones I’d been having as I read the book.

A Beautiful, Terrible Thing is unique in that it is written in the style of a novel, simultaneously telling the story of the beginning of the relationship with her husband, and its devastating end, in “Before” and “After” segments. Waite’s seemingly perfect marriage unravels shortly after the birth of her daughter, when she discovers her husband has been unfaithful—something he denies repeatedly, despite evidence to the contrary. In her search for the truth, she realizes her husband fits the definition of a psychopath and is incapable of truly loving anyone. Her marriage was built on a foundation of lies. For her daughter’s sake, Waite must find the strength to begin a new life.

The damage that can be done by someone with a dangerous personality disorder cannot be understated. Gaslighting is a particularly heinous manipulation that leaves the victim confused and disoriented, questioning their ability to remember events correctly. This is a single example of the many ways such a person can mentally torture their victims.

This powerful memoir is heartbreaking, often chilling, and incredibly hard to put down. It feels wrong to say I “enjoyed” reading it, given the pain and suffering the author went through, but I’m glad I read it. I think books such as this one are important because they shine a light on the destructive behaviors of abusers… perhaps the better equipped people are to recognize the signs, the lesser the chance they will be a potential victim? One can only hope.

I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Plume via Netgalley.

Author: Jen Waite

Title: A Beautiful, Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal

Genre: Memoir

Publication Date: July 11th, 2017 by Plume

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |Penguin Random House

About the Book

What do you do when you discover that the person you’ve built your life around never existed? When “it could never happen to me” does happen to you?

These are the questions facing Jen Waite when she begins to realize that her loving husband—the father of her infant daughter, her best friend, the love of her life—fits the textbook definition of psychopath. In a raw, first-person account, Waite recounts each heartbreaking discovery, every life-destroying lie, and reveals what happens once the dust finally settles on her demolished marriage.

After a disturbing email sparks Waite’s suspicion that her husband is having an affair, she tries to uncover the truth and rebuild trust in her marriage. Instead, she finds more lies, infidelity, and betrayal than she could have imagined. Waite obsessively analyzes her relationship, trying to find a single moment from the last five years that isn’t part of the long-con of lies and manipulation. With a dual-timeline narrative structure, we see Waite’s romance bud, bloom, and wither simultaneously, making the heartbreak and disbelief even more affecting.

About the Author

Jen Waite lives in Maine with her young daughter. She is applying to graduate school to become a licensed therapist, specializing in recovery from psychopathic relationships.

Author photo and bio via Amazon.

#BlogTour My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach #TLCBookTours

My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward gives readers an intimate and often heartbreaking look into the lives of author Mark Lukach and his wife, Giulia. In their third year of marriage, Giulia suffered a psychotic break. Delusional and suicidal, she was confined to a psych ward for twenty three days before she was allowed to return home. In time, she recovered, and they welcomed their son, Jonah, into the world. Sadly, Giulia would suffer two more psychotic episodes over the next few years, and had to be confined to the psych ward, again, each time.

Giulia’s journey is often distressing to read about, as is the way it affected all those who loved her. Lukach tells how he felt as a husband—and later, as a father—as he watched his beloved wife slide into episodes of delusional thinking, and the terror he felt when Giulia became suicidal. He also writes about how the role of caretaker took a toll on him physically and emotionally, and is brutally honest about the anger he sometimes felt toward his wife, and how overwhelmed he became in trying to care for both his wife and son during these times.

It feels weird to say I enjoyed a book about so serious a topic as mental illness, but I did. It’s beautifully written, and I know I’ll be thinking about this book for quite some time.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy memoirs, and books dealing with mental health issues!

Author: Mark Lukach

Title: My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward

Genre: Memoir

Published: May 2nd, 2017 by Harper Wave

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Book

A heart-wrenching, yet hopeful, memoir of a young marriage that is redefined by mental illness and affirms the power of love.

Mark and Giulia’s life together began as a storybook romance. They fell in love at eighteen, married at twenty-four, and were living their dream life in San Francisco. When Giulia was twenty-seven, she suffered a terrifying and unexpected psychotic break that landed her in the psych ward for nearly a month. One day she was vibrant and well-adjusted; the next she was delusional and suicidal, convinced that her loved ones were not safe.

Eventually, Giulia fully recovered, and the couple had a son. But, soon after Jonas was born, Giulia had another breakdown, and then a third a few years after that. Pushed to the edge of the abyss, everything the couple had once taken for granted was upended.

A story of the fragility of the mind, and the tenacity of the human spirit, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward is, above all, a love story that raises profound questions: How do we care for the people we love? What and who do we live for? Breathtaking in its candor, radiant with compassion, and written with dazzling lyricism, Lukach’s is an intensely personal odyssey through the harrowing years of his wife’s mental illness, anchored by an abiding devotion to family that will affirm readers’ faith in the power of love.

About the Author

Mark Lukach is a teacher and freelance writer. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Pacific Standard, Wired, and other publications. He is currently the ninth-grade dean at the Athenian School, where he also teaches history. He lives with his wife, Giulia, and their son, Jonas, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Find out more about Mark at his website, and connect with him on Facebook and Instagram.

Tour Schedule

Tuesday, May 2nd: A Bookish Affair

Wednesday, May 3rd: bookchickdi

Friday, May 5th: Tina Says…

Tuesday, May 9th: StephTheBookworm

Wednesday, May 10th: Back Porchervations

Thursday, May 11th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Monday, May 15th: Stranded in Chaos

Tuesday, May 16th: Dreams, Etc.

Wednesday, May 17th: Wining Wife

Thursday, May 18th: Jathan & Heather

Monday, May 22nd: Book Hooked Blog

Tuesday, May 23rd: Thoughts On This ‘n That

Wednesday, May 24th: The Geeky Bibliophile

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#Review: No Apparent Distress by Rachel Pearson, MD @HumanitiesMD @wwnorton

If you are deeply concerned about the plight of the poor in America—and, in particular, the roadblocks they face in getting even the smallest health care need met—then this is going to be an extremely difficult book for you to read.

As I write this review,the date is currently January 23, 2017. Three days ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America. The House of Representatives and the Senate is in Republican control and it’s just a matter of time before a new Supreme Court Justice is appointed—who will most certainly be a Conservative—which means all three branches of the Federal government will be under Republican control. By the time this review is published in late April, it is very likely that under this Republican majority, the Affordable Care Act will have been repealed, which will be particularly devastating to the most vulnerable in our society who gained coverage through the medicaid expansion (if they were fortunate enough to live in a state that expanded medicaid).

Which makes this a most timely read, indeed.

No Apparent Distress recounts the author’s days as a medical student in Galveston, Texas, detailing some of her experiences working in St. Vincent’s Student-Run Free Clinic. Staffed by volunteer students and physicians from University of Texas Medical Branch, St. Vincent’s offered health services for the uninsured poor. Financial limitations restricted the care patients received, sometimes with deadly results.

Pearson doesn’t shy away from admitting her own mistakes and shortcomings as a medical student; she shares those stories with regret and the 20/20 hindsight that wisdom brings. Nor does she hide her frustration about the disparity of care available to the insured vs. the uninsured, given examples of the inequalities she noticed while working/learning at the office of another doctor whose patients were insured and had considerable financial means, as well.

The Haves… and the Have-Nots.

If ever there was a book that inspired compassion for those less fortunate, it’s this one. If you’re seeking understanding about what it’s like to be poor and uninsured in America, I urge you to read this book. It’s definitely an eye-opener.

I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company.

Author: Rachel Pearson, MD

Title: No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Publication Date: May 9th, 2017 by W. W. Norton & Company

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Purchase Links

W. W. Norton & Company | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Book

In medical charts, the term “N.A.D.” (No Apparent Distress) is used for patients who appear stable. The phrase also aptly describes America’s medical system when it comes to treating the underprivileged. Medical students learn on the bodies of the poor—and the poor suffer from their mistakes.

Rachel Pearson confronted these harsh realities when she started medical school in Galveston, Texas. Pearson, herself from a working-class background, remains haunted by the suicide of a close friend, experiences firsthand the heartbreak of her own errors in a patient’s care, and witnesses the ruinous effects of a hurricane on a Texas town’s medical system. In a free clinic where the motto is “All Are Welcome Here,” she learns how to practice medicine with love and tenacity amidst the raging injustices of a system that favors the rich and the white. No Apparent Distress is at once an indictment of American health care and a deeply moving tale of one doctor’s coming-of-age.

About the Author

Author Rachel Pearson (Photo © Danielle Barnum)

Rachel Pearson, MD PhD, is a resident physician who also holds a PhD from the Institute for the Medical Humanities. Her writing has appeared in Scientific American, the Guardian, and the Texas Observer. She is a fifth-generation Texan, currently training as a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Author photo and bio via publisher’s website.

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#Review: The Polygamist’s Daughter by Anna LeBaron @annaklebaron @TyndaleHouse

I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and Tynedale House.

I’m not quite sure how my fascination with polygamy began. It may have been a news report that sparked my curiosity, or perhaps it was an article in a magazine, or an interview on a talk show. However it started, I’m usually unable to pass up the chance to read the memoir of someone who chose to share their personal experiences of such a life.

The Polygamist’s Daughter is the memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious Ervil LeBaron. Ervil was the self-proclaimed “prophet” of the Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God. As leader of this polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group, LeBaron ordered the murders of 25+ people, citing the doctrine of blood atonement as justification for killing rival leaders, members of his family, and followers. It began with the murder of brother Joel LeBaron in 1972, and finally ended seven years after his death with the “4 O’Clock Murders” in 1988—carried out by seven members of his family, who killed their targets at exactly 4pm.

Anna’s childhood was spent being moved from one location to another, often in the dead of night, in an effort to prevent the authorities from tracking down her father. Often separated from her mother and siblings, her childhood years were marked with uncertainty and fear, living in poverty and having very little contact with her father. When she was 13, Anna made the decision to leave the cult, and it changed her life forever—but it was not without long-term consequences.

LeBaron’s writing style is engaging, drawing you in without over-dramatizing even the most shocking events of her life. She tells her story in a straightforward manner that reflects not only the wisdom she’s gained over the years, but also the strength that came out of enduring hardship and devastation… culminating in a spiritual peace that was lacking when she was a child.

Definitely worth reading if this is a subject you’re curious about.

Author: Anna LeBaron

Title: The Polygamist’s Daughter

Genre: Memoir

Published: March 21st, 2017 by Tyndale House

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Purchase Link

Amazon

About the Book

“My father had more than fifty children.”

So begins the haunting memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious polygamist and murderer Ervil LeBaron. With her father wanted by the FBI for killing anyone who tried to leave his cult—a radical branch of Mormonism—Anna and her siblings were constantly on the run with the other sister-wives. Often starving and always desperate, the children lived in terror. Even though there were dozens of them together, Anna always felt alone.

She escaped when she was thirteen . . . but the nightmare was far from over.

A shocking true story of murder, fear, and betrayal, The Polygamist’s Daughter is also the heart-cry of a fatherless girl and her search for love, faith, and a safe place to call home.

About the Author

One of more than fifty children of infamous, polygamist cult leader, Ervil LeBaron, Anna LeBaron endured abandonment, horrific living conditions, child labor, and sexual grooming. At age thirteen, she escaped the violent cult, gave her life to Christ, and sought healing. A gifted communicator and personal growth activist, she’s passionate about helping others walk in freedom. Anna lives in the DFW Metroplex and loves being Mom to her five grown children.

Author photo and bio via Goodreads.

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