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abuse

The S Word: A Memoir About Secrets

Secrets. Silence. Standing Alone. Author: Paolina Milana S stands for secrets. For silence. For sin. For schizophrenia. For sinister. For standing alone. In this memoir, Paolina Milana documents her childhood and teen years, growing up in a chaotic family, dedicated to taking care of Paolina’s increasingly schizophrenic and often violent mother. The father of the family is overwhelmed, and after a brief adventure with the unhelpful medical system – even bringing the police into the ruse to institutionalize Paolina’s mother – the family caves to fear and secrecy. They are on their own, shunned, struggling, trying to keep a secret that [...]

2025-05-08T09:35:06-07:00May 8th, 2025|Tags: , , , , , |

Darling Girls

Chosen Sisters Author: Sally Hepworth Some families are biological. Some families are found. Some are created by trauma. The latter is true for Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. Each of them underwent a horrific experience at Wild Meadows where their unpredictable foster mother, Miss Fairchild, oscillated between cloying dependence and ruthless revenge. When Miss Fairchild directed her vitriol towards a new toddler, the girls decided to risk losing each other and report her. They thought it ended there. They were taken from Wild Meadows, raised separately, yet somehow able to keep their connections with one another. They presumed the toddler had been [...]

2024-09-14T21:47:58-07:00September 14th, 2024|Tags: , , , , , |

Underwater Daughter

A Lyrical Memoir of Abuse Author: Antonia Deignan As a child, Tuni didn’t know that her father was sexually abusing her. She thought it was love. A special bond, a secret kind of affection. The fact that her mother knew and was present only galvanized this normalcy, or so she thought. But as an adult, she reflects on the abuse in Underwater Daughter, on the way its wrongness colored her entire life, from the gradual realizations growing up, to the body dysmorphia and solace sought in alcohol and drugs, and finally to her own approach to motherhood and finally caring for [...]

2024-05-31T19:47:47-07:00May 31st, 2024|Tags: , , , , |
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