Mitzie Testani Testani থেকে Uricani 336100, Romania
It was an interesting, slightly entertaining read but there wasn't much to elevate it above gawking at a train wreck. It's one short horribly shocking anecdote after another of this women's childhood growing up very poor by parents who chose this lifestyle. Yes, the parents suffer from various addictions and mental and emotional problems. But the author makes it very clear that this is not a story about the poor, underprivileged, or mentally ill homeless in America. These people had options. They just chose a different way. Her parents had access to help, jobs, and $ to alleviate many of their problems and they refuse. For example, the kids find a diamond ring that they could sell to pay for food instead of having to dig through trash day after day but the mother insists on keeping and wearing the ring, even when she ends up homeless in NYC years later (actually a step up from the squalor of their "home" in West Virgina). Of course, this assumes that you even believe this story. Many of the stories she recounts are so incredible they are almost impossible to believe. The author's point of view is very sympathetic which ultimately made the book unsatisfying for me. Her parent's behavior is clearly abusive, not simply an alternative, off-the-grid lifestyle. I get that she loves her parents and wants to see the good in them. And that can be a refreshing contrast to other autobio's out there condemning their rotten evil parents. But there's a limit and I think having a bucket in the kitchen serving as a toilet, practically pimping out your daughter, and having the kids sleep under an inflatable raft because there's a hole in the ceiling that allows rain to pour in over the bed are clearly miles beyond that limit. So if thinking "wow, that's crazy" over and over sounds entertaining to you, by all means read it.
Anécdota original, desarrollo muy lento y con una resolución previsible. En cuanto a la ubicación... no comment.
I'm a bit skeptical about getting this. I'll let my thoughts about it settle a bit before I decide whether to buy it or not.