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The Liar’s Club – Mary Karr 320pgs

This was one of those books that I saw on the pallet at Costco for about a year and never picked up even, though I was thinking, look at the size of that pallet that must be a great book. This summer I spotted it in a used book store. It’s a memoir of a girl growing up with a mom that’s more than a little off her rocker. Writing is strong particularly the word choice used in describing aspects or her family. The section where she describes her grandmother’s room smelling of water moccasin is powerful. If you can’t guess, water moccasin is not a pleasant smell and grammie ain’t pleasant either. I won’t soon forget the description of her mother in a psychotic episode burning all the families possessions including the author’s dresses when she was about six.

The book seemed destined to do nothing other than get me to ask for a fistful of anti- depressants or a fifth of whiskey. Howeve,r the last two chapters describing what happened after everyone has grown up was surprisingly uplifting and forces me to change my review from “run away” to “approach cautiously.” Ultimately it’s testimony to the power of a young mind to survive untold abuse and still turn out a functioning adult. Avoid it if your needing to be cheered up.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140179836/qid=1129206898/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-8692782-3336902?v=glance&s=books