#magicofmemoir

[bookmama]

Carly Gelsinger’s Once You Go In: A Memoir of Radical Faith was a whole lot more than I bargained for when I began reading this next stop in the BookSparks #MagicOfMemoir blog tour. Carly’s tale or joining, growing up in and finally leaving the Pine Canyon Assembly Of God Church is like watching a  car crash in slow motion, and then being able to watch it all go back to the way it was in reverse.  

As an impressionable preteen Carly joined the local Assembly of God Church.  At first the kind of faith and prayer being practiced there scared Carly, but she wanted badly to belong and to know why she wasn’t able to connect with God the way the other teenagers within the church were.  Throughout the book you see Carly fall deeper and deeper in to the mental abuse and cult mentality that the church and youth group Carly belonged to thrived on. Carly continues down this path even when it hurts herself and her family because in many ways she just can’t understand how to live without it until she comes to a breaking point and sees for the first time just how much danger she is in.  This isn’t normal faith. This wasn’t faith at all. What Carly was subjected to was abuse.

The remainder of Carly’s story is very relatable even if you haven’t dealt with radical faith, and that is how you find your way back to faith in any form after you lose it or have extreme doubts.  As an adult Carly is very slow to trust any organized religion again and to feel comfortable in a faith setting because of the trauma of her youth inside the Assembly Of God Church.   She has to confront a lot of the events she suppressed and deal with the emotions of anger and grief that follow before she can go into another situation and trust that she won’t be hurt again. It was a very powerful testament to the type of person Carly was all along that even after all she had been through she was willing to give religion of any kind another chance.

Overall this was a very powerful read.  It was in no way an easy book to read because often the content was uncomfortable or even enraging. It is hard to judge a book when it is dealing with people’s religious beliefs, but as I said before in this instance this crossed over from church to cult.  I am in no way saying every church within The Assembly Of God is on this level but I also can not say that isn’t true.  I have never been a member, my personal experience with members has not been what I would call encouraging and then mixed with this book, that is how I am forming my opinion currently.  I definitely believe reading books and memoirs like this are important to build awareness and also empathy. 

#Once you go in #Carly Gelsinger #BookSparks #bookshark #memoir #magicofmemoir #book review #She Writes Press

[pnwbookreviews-blog]

Shunned is the story of woman who has lived her life as a Jehovahs Witness but one day, after a conversation with a coworker, she begins to question her faith. Eventually she decides to leave her religion, leading her to be shunned by her community and her family, even having to divorce her husband. The story is about being true to your heart even when it means going against everything you’ve always known. Thank you so much to @booksparks for the copy, it sounds like a great read! 📚 📚 📚 #book #bookaholic #booksarelife #bookishlove #bookfeaturepage #booklove #epicreads #totalbooknerd #bookgram #bookphotography #becauseofreading #bookaddict #fortheloveofbooks #igreads #bibliophile #bookishfeatures #bookish #bookishlove #eatsleepread #pnwreaders #booklover #bookblogger #bookstagramfeature #shelfcare #magicofmemoir

#bibliophile #pnwreaders #book #bookishlove #igreads #epicreads #shelfcare #bookfeaturepage #magicofmemoir #bookishfeatures #booklove #booklover #bookaholic #bookphotography #bookstagramfeature #eatsleepread #booksarelife #bookish #bookaddict #bookblogger #bookgram #becauseofreading #totalbooknerd #fortheloveofbooks

[debi14in2014]

But My Brain Had Other Ideas by Deb Brandon #FRC2017

But My Brain Had Other Ideas by Deb Brandon #BookReview #FRC2017 #MagicofMemoir @debbrandon @BookSparks @SheWritesPress

As part of the BookSparks Magic of Memoirs Tour 2017, I’ve been provided with several memoirs to read and share with all of you.  Today’s post is on the book, But My Brain Had Other Ideas by Deb Brandon.

Deb Brandon shares her story to educate others and to bring attention to a disease called Cavernous Angioma. Cavernous angiomas are vascular lesions comprised of clusters of abnormally dilated…

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[bookmama]

My next read in the #magicofmemoir2018 blog tour by BookSparks is Two Minus One by Kathryn Taylor!

This memoir looks into the rebuilding of a woman’s life after the destruction of a marriage falling apart. Thank you so much again to BookSparks for letting me be a part of this blog tour and being a part of these amazing stories.

#two minus one #kathryn taylor #booksparks #she writes press #magicofmemoir #bookstagram #memoirs

[bookmama]

Super excited to be a part of The Magic Of Memoir BlogTour 4.0. ! Thank you so much to Book Sparks for this free review copy of Boot Language by Vanya Erickson 📚

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This is the first memoir of the blog tour and author Vanya Erickson tells the tale of surviving her childhood through the beauty of the wilderness around her.

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Stay tuned for more about this beautiful book, and stay tuned for more amazing memoirs in this tour coming this fall💗

#magicofmemoir #boot language #vanya erickson #booksparks #she writes press #bookstagram #booklr #bookworm #bookish #books #blog tour #book shark

[pnwbookreviews-blog]

Hello everybody! I have approximately 523 things to get done but I’m not doing them. At least not right this minute. Question - do you make to do lists? And if so do you follow them?? I like to make them but rarely follow them. 🙈 📚 The book is part of the #magicofmemoir from @booksparks and is out May22. Its about a woman battling breast cancer through the lens of love rather than as a war. It sounds like a really uplifting read despite the topic. 📚 📚 📚 #book #bookaholic #booksarelife #bookishlove #bookfeaturepage #booklove #epicreads #totalbooknerd #bookgram #bookphotography #becauseofreading #bookaddict #fortheloveofbooks #igreads #bibliophile #bookishfeatures #bookish #bookishlove #eatsleepread #pnwreaders #booklover #bookblogger #bookstagramfeature #shelfcare

#bookblogger #booklover #booksarelife #bookish #bookfeaturepage #bookaddict #fortheloveofbooks #eatsleepread #bookphotography #magicofmemoir #bookgram #book #bookishfeatures #becauseofreading #bookstagramfeature #shelfcare #bibliophile #igreads #bookaholic #pnwreaders #booklove #bookishlove #epicreads #totalbooknerd

[debi14in2014]

Lost in the Reflecting Pool by Diane Pomerantz #FRC2017

Lost in the Reflecting Pool by Diane Pomerantz #BookReview #FRC2017 #MagicofMemoir @drdcpmd @BookSparks @SheWritesPress

As part of the BookSparks Magic of Memoirs Tour 2017, I’ve been provided with several memoirs to read and share with all of you.  Today’s post is on the book, Lost in the Reflecting Pool by Diane Pomerantz.

This was a very interesting read – Dr. Diane Pomerantz is a clinical psychologist who shares her story with readers in Lost in the Reflecting Pool exactly how easy it is for anyone to get…

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[bookmama]

This month begins a Blog Tour I am participating in called #MagicofMemoir2018   and so a very special thank you to BookSparks for including me in this awesome Blog Tour.  As part of the Blog Tour I will be receiving five memoir review copies for free in exchange for am honest review. As always all opinions here and on all my other social media platforms are my own.

The Magic Of Memoir 2018 Blog Tour started out with an absolute stunner of a book.  I was sent Boot Language by Vanya Erickson. Before I get into my review I would like to put out a warning that this book may be upsetting for people who can not handle topics of child abuse (both verbal and physical), and the effects of growing up with an alcoholic parent.

My Review:

When I first received my review copy of Boot Language I was struck by how odd the title seemed to me.  I couldn’t make sense of the two words put together but figured it had something to do with Vanya the author growing up on a ranch in the Sierra Nevadas.  The title later makes heartbreaking sense and sums up both Vanya and I’m sure her younger sister KK’s system of surviving their childhood.

Vanya Erickson tells the story of her childhood in the 60′s and early 70′s up until the time of her father’s death in this emotionally raw and often anxiety inducing memoir.  Vanya a middle child had two brothers and two sisters. In her memoir you see that herself and sometimes her little sister are the focus of sick twisted games of abuse played by her alcoholic father. Vanya’s mother is also an important role in her upbringing but offers her no safe haven from any danger or unpleasantness in the world due to her strict Christian Science beliefs. Her mother believes everything can just be prayed away.  At many times throughout the book it is hard to determine which parent is doing more damage, the enabler mother or the abuser father. 

The most interesting aspect of this book for me was the complex relationship that Vanya really explored through her writing of her and her father.  She really strives to understand her own thoughts and feelings on how a little girl who was so hurt and terrified by such a cruel man could still want to earn his love and respect.  It is a really unique a special window that allows us to see the complex emotions and damage done to children of abuse and alcoholism.

The title of the memoir “Boot Language” comes from Vanya’s developed ability over time to determine how dangerous her father was by the sound his boots made as they scraped across the floor entering the house.  These sounds gave her insight to how drunk he was, how much danger she was in of being hurt, and how much time if any she had to hide if need be.  this had to me one of the most heartbreaking and emotionally grating passages of the book.  The realization that children this young need to learn how to survive their own parents is so awful and despicable. 

In the end the book addresses what it it is like for children of alcoholics to deal with a parent who is dying from their years of alcohol abuse and then come to terms with their death.

This memoir was beautifully written and if it had to be summed up in one word I would choose haunting. Vanya Erickson opens the door for readers to see the most painful memories of her childhood, given to her by parents who shouldn’t have had the privilege of such wonderful children.  While her memories are her own unique experiences her story is also such a beautiful and strong testimony to the effects of alcohol abuse on a family and the perseverance of the human spirit.

#vanya erickson #boot language #BookSparks #magicofmemoir #book review #memoir #booklr #bookish