Make a Home Out of You
Ginelle Testa
Make a Home Out of You is a coming of age memoir, sharing the deep and dark memories of the author's difficult adolescence. From her mother's part-absentee part-abusive parenting style to her early introduction to sex, drugs and alcohol, Ginelle combats trauma with addiction and attachment issues with unhealthy sexual relationships. Ginelle discovers AA and other similar groups while still in college, and speaks candidly about her journey through these programs, from painfully uncomfortable first impressions to leaving and coming back to beginning to work with a sponsor and really committing to the program. She shows readers that these programs can and do work, if you are fully ready to embrace them, and if you find the right group for you (ie. women's only, young adults, etc.) Throughout the memoir Ginelle also works with therapists and meditation specialists emphasizing the importance of working through addictions and trauma in many different ways, because one process may not be enough to truly heal. That being said, she ends the book somewhat abruptly, without all of the ends tied up nicely, because addiction is a life long battle, and no matter how long the story kept going, there would be no perfect happy ending, just a work in progress. There was enough closure, but it also leaves the reader wondering what happens next? This memoir is well written, easy to follow and makes connecting with the author feel natural. Definitely one you should check out!
Thanks to @booksforwardpr for sending me a copy of this awesome book, and for organizing another great #booktour!
The Hard Parts Oksana Masters
I recently read The Hard Parts by @oksanamasters, a fitting choice for this year's #ParalympicGamesParis2024
If you haven't noticed, I love adoption memoirs and olympic memoirs (specifically gymnastics, but other sports are good too!), so the fact that this one melded the two together made it the perfect choice for me! Masters tells her story from the beginning, including a remarkable amount of details from her early childhood in an orphanage in Ukraine where she suffered severe abuse and neglect. Oksana was born with multiple congenital malformations as a result of Chernobyl and was likely given up for adoption because doctors convinced her birth parents that they would not be able to handle the health care that would be needed to care for her. Oksana lived in the orphanage until she was about 7, when she was adopted by a woman from America who had to jump through several hoops to navigate the complex system and eventually bring her daughter home. Despite the immense trauma she suffered, Oksana actually adjusted really well to her new life, but carried that with her and was re-traumatized many times as a result of medical procedures to correct or treat the problems that arose from her birth defects, as well as difficulties related to learning English and adjusting to an unfamiliar school system. When Oksana found the sport of rowing, she began to heal some of these traumas out on the water and she embarked on new dreams and set her sights on the paralympics.
This memoir is very well written and is filled with emotion, but also bravery, pride and achievement. Her story is inspiring while also vulnerable and honest. I really appreciated all of the information I learned about the paralympics and paralympic sports, as I didn't know very much about rowing, skiing or the games in general. Masters is a wonderful role model and she does a great job representing adopted children, Ukrainians, people with disabilities and survivors of trauma, among other groups that form parts of her identity. I would absolutely recommend this book as there is a lot one can learn from such an incredible story.
The Theory of Crows
David Roberston
This one was a #whereinwinnipeg post, so head on over to that blog post to see my full review.
Life in the City of Dirty Water
Clayton Thomas-Müller
This is also a #whereinwinnipeg post, which you will find here.
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