About this title: A searing, beautifully written, and compulsively readable memoir by a daughter who grew up with a narcissistic and addictive mother. Sonnenberg mines her painful and often startling memories as she examines her struggle to break free of her mothers all-consuming influence.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2008-01-01
ISBN-13:9780743291088ISBN:0743291085
Description: Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Near Fine/Near Fine, no tears or chips to the DJ, interior clean and bright, binding tight, a wonderful copy throughout. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Almost in new condition. Book shows only very slight signs of use. Cover and binding are undamaged and pages show minimal use. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. 0743291085 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0743291085 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Like New. 2008-Hardcover-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Description: Good. 2008-Hardcover----Used-Good-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Description: Acceptable. 2008-Hardcover---No Dust Jacket-Used-Acceptable-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780743291088ISBN:0743291085
Description: New in New jacket. This book has a new dust jacket. This book is brand new. Shop with confidence. We guarantee the condition of every product as it's described on our listings. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780743291088ISBN:0743291085
Description: Fine in Like New jacket. This book has an excellent dust jacket. This book is like new. The cover may have minor wear, tear, dents, scratches, and creases. The inside pages are in excellent shape, may have minor dog eared corners, and may contain a name inside. Shop with confidence. We guarantee the condition of every product as it's described on our listings. read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Reader copy. Large print. Ex-library. Usual library stamps and stickers. Spine cocked. Significant water damage throughout, but does not affect text. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780743291088ISBN:0743291085
Description: New in New jacket. Brand New Hardcover with dust jacket, clean, tight, unmarked, All orders are shipped by kbooks every business day. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Scribner, Old Tappan, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2008
Description: Trade paperback. ADVANCE READER'S EDITION. NEW, unread. A review copy and thus printed on the cover 'not for sale' to avoid it being sold in retail stores as a new trade copy. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner, Old Tappan, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780743291088ISBN:0743291085
Description: Very Good in Good jacket. DJ has marks, chipping, creases-Cover has edgewear and bumping-Marks on edge & FFEP-Scribbling on RPD/RFEP. read more
"An interesting read about a very disturbing mother and the effects her upbringing has on her daughter Susanna. I think the author is brave for writing such an honest and open memoir. However, it is a very disturbing book. From the millions of things the mother does with/to her daughter to the fact that daughter becomes much like mother for an uncertain amount of time, it gives you a feeling of discomfort to read this book. I am sure that is the purpose, for us to truly understand what Susanna went through, but it was much more shocking than I had expected, which is what makes it intriguing. You want to know what Susanna decides about her mother's "last death" because as you read about Daphne you become more and more unsure what you would do yourself. Well written and intriguing, as long as you can rid yourself of that "icky feeling" you get from reading it."
"This book is strangely interesting yet terrible. There was a lot of potential here for Susanna's personal transformation - to rise above her mother's crazy antics, and by becoming a mother herself to become a better person. However, that didn't happen. I lost sympathy for Susanna as soon as she met her husband. I was fine with her rebellious sexual conquest period. I get it. Her mom gave her some messed up value system and self-esteem only as a sexual object for men. Yet, instead of finally meeting someone who could show her the art of compromise and be a true companion, she meets someone who a) does not instantly want to sleep with her, and b) goesn't give in to her every whim. This of course becomes a fascinating challenge for her. Her husband wants her to move away from New York, so she moves. He doesn't want a baby, so she aborts, against her own desires. He DOES want a baby after all, so they have some kids. Perhaps all of this turned out ok in the end for her, but it seems like once again, she is just the object for a man to do with as he pleases. Then, her mother is in a coma and Susanna decides she's through with her mother and her new family is more important. Why not rise above instead of ignoring a potential confrontation? OR show your kids an important lesson about love and family? Susanna's portrayal of herself in this book is simply confusing and lacks a moral center. It's all about the What happened, and not enough about the Why, the Who, or the How. However, like I said, I found the book strangely interesting because Susanna overall shares a lot of secrets that can't be easy to have everyone know about and she seems pretty cool. She is someone I want to meet and be friends with."
"Another fast, entertaining read, although I did take issue with some of it. It's a memoir of this woman's life with her mother, who raised her and her sister.
In the first part of the book I felt sympathy for the daughter/writer. But as the book continued it seemed to evolve into just a blame game, wherein her mother's shortcomings caused the writer's life problems, particularly in her love life. That's not to say the mother was blameless, but it didn't seem like the writer cut her much slack, especially since she's made it through all of that and now has a happy family - husband, two kids, etc.
My heart ached for the mother, who is still alive and would read this book, not to mention the writer's kids, who will someday read about their mother's sexual escapades, which the writer suggests she did because of the influence of her mother.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, BUT it did remind me how great my childhood was and how lucky I am to have (and have had) the stability of family around me, regardless of how wacky we were/are."
"I wanted to like this book. I'm interested in well written memoirs and I enjoy a good backstory of drugs and other nefarious activities. And I did like the book at first, but somewhere in the middle I found myself increasingly put off. She paints her story with sex, sex, sex, sex, drugs, mom did this to me, sex, sex, sex. It's exhausting and, while I like her writing style, I found her to be indulgent and more than a little self-righteous and mean. For instance, she and her husband get a puppy. Puppy misbehaves - she describes the puppy as a beast, which, come on. Give me a break. Supposedly after all the "training" they got for Ruby, the puppy, Ruby was still a terrible dog. Really? I've been around dogs of various temperaments my entire life and I have NEVER encountered a dog who didn't respond to love, attention and training. But we're supposed to believe that, despite the two of them coming to the instant conclusion to "put the dog down" - a very nice way of saying that they had a vet end kill the dog because they couldn't handle it. For the entire second half of the book she describes her incredibly active sex life in candid detail to the point where I squirmed (and I'm not a prude). She treated people horribly. She describes how she wants to throw her baby in the river and how that made her feel powerful, that the baby should thank her because she did not throw him in.
I truly feel for her if she did suffer abuse from her mother, but if her mother did all the things Ms. Sonnenberg claims, her mother would have probably died a long time ago. People don't just flutter in and out of the kind of drug abuse that results in massive, pus-filled sores. But Ms. Sonnenberg has her mother in and out of a very long history of such abuse like each event was little more than a headache but less than a hangover.
I have a hard time believing her story and, indeed, glancing at the fine print I realized that I am probably justified in my disbelief, as she writes, "In the interests of the narrative, I have conflated or changed some events and dialogue and created occasional composites." I know it's somewhat standard to write a disclaimer because no one remembers everything in every detail, but to create composites is a little absurd. Why not just write fiction then?
I give the book two stars because she really is a great writer. I just found her to be an insufferable, arrogant, entitled jerk whose story seemed more than a little "conflated." It's a book that I feel is a little like the feeling of discomfort a person may get when someone overshares - it's that sort of awkward feeling where you find yourself thinking that you just want to get away from the person. I would hate to be a relative or friend of hers after reading that book. Ugh."
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