brittnoble16's review against another edition
To be honest, I only finished this book because 1) I'm trying to read 35 books this year and every page counts, and 2) some of the scenes gave me the same sick exhilaration of watching people's train wreck lives on social media (not that I'm judging because of course I have my own train wreck life). Would not recommend.
janefc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
babayagareads's review against another edition
1.0
I had to abandon this book, which is something I very rarely do. It's important to remember that this writer is not a doctor or a social science professional - she, just like everyone else, is the star in her own life, and some really terrible, terrible things happen to her. And yes, they are pretty much unforgivable and deplorable. And the text is super triggering, more so because this is a work of nonfiction. But for her to label her husband as a psychopath and continue to seek a medical diagnosis for him using literally WebMD is absurd and I couldn't take it seriously. I appreciate her strife, but sadly this is a pretty common tale, not specific to this individual at all. If this had been posed as more of a common story instead of as something that could have only happened once because "it's just too outrageous to have ever happened to anyone else" then I probably would have been able to get through it.
thegeekybibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure how long I had this ARC before I started reading it, but it was apparently long enough for me to forget it was a memoir. It happens sometimes, but I usually remember once I start reading. As I read it over the weekend, I was convinced I was reading an engrossing psychological thriller... until I read the acknowledgements at the end. That's when I realized I was actually reading a memoir. All of this actually happened. The chill that went through me at this realization was far more intense than the ones I'd been having as I read the book.
A Beautiful, Terrible Thing is unique in that it is written in the style of a novel, simultaneously telling the story of the beginning of the relationship with her husband, and its devastating end, in "Before" and "After" segments. Waite's seemingly perfect marriage unravels shortly after the birth of her daughter, when she discovers her husband has been unfaithful—something he denies repeatedly, despite evidence to the contrary. In her search for the truth, she realizes her husband fits the definition of a psychopath and is incapable of truly loving anyone. Her marriage was built on a foundation of lies. For her daughter's sake, Waite must find the strength to begin a new life.
The damage that can be done by someone with a dangerous personality disorder cannot be understated. Gaslighting is a particularly heinous manipulation that leaves the victim confused and disoriented, questioning their ability to remember events correctly. This is a single example of the many ways such a person can mentally torture their victims.
This powerful memoir is heartbreaking, often chilling, and incredibly hard to put down. It feels wrong to say I "enjoyed" reading it, given the pain and suffering the author went through, but I'm glad I read it. I think books such as this one are important because they shine a light on the destructive behaviors of abusers... perhaps the better equipped people are to recognize the signs, the lesser the chance they will be a potential victim? One can only hope.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Plume via Netgalley.
A Beautiful, Terrible Thing is unique in that it is written in the style of a novel, simultaneously telling the story of the beginning of the relationship with her husband, and its devastating end, in "Before" and "After" segments. Waite's seemingly perfect marriage unravels shortly after the birth of her daughter, when she discovers her husband has been unfaithful—something he denies repeatedly, despite evidence to the contrary. In her search for the truth, she realizes her husband fits the definition of a psychopath and is incapable of truly loving anyone. Her marriage was built on a foundation of lies. For her daughter's sake, Waite must find the strength to begin a new life.
The damage that can be done by someone with a dangerous personality disorder cannot be understated. Gaslighting is a particularly heinous manipulation that leaves the victim confused and disoriented, questioning their ability to remember events correctly. This is a single example of the many ways such a person can mentally torture their victims.
This powerful memoir is heartbreaking, often chilling, and incredibly hard to put down. It feels wrong to say I "enjoyed" reading it, given the pain and suffering the author went through, but I'm glad I read it. I think books such as this one are important because they shine a light on the destructive behaviors of abusers... perhaps the better equipped people are to recognize the signs, the lesser the chance they will be a potential victim? One can only hope.
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Plume via Netgalley.
tschinstock's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
2.0
I expected this to be so much better.
I empathized with the author. What she experienced shouldn’t happen to anyone, and I’m glad she had the support system and the means to get out and move forward. And perhaps this book will be helpful to women who have gone through similar experiences; if you’ve ever been gaslit, it’s a huge relief to have someone else validate your experiences.
But it was so poorly written! (Blatant grammar mistakes! I cannot abide!) And there’s nothing really redemptive or instructive here: it’s just a woman telling you how her husband repeatedly lied and cheated on her, and how shocked she was when she first found out because she thought he was the perfect husband. Right. I got that from the book jacket.
There were several hints that implied her parents are very wealthy, which makes me suspect that perhaps she has connections in the publishing industry? Because I’m really having a hard time understanding how this got picked up by a major publisher.
I empathized with the author. What she experienced shouldn’t happen to anyone, and I’m glad she had the support system and the means to get out and move forward. And perhaps this book will be helpful to women who have gone through similar experiences; if you’ve ever been gaslit, it’s a huge relief to have someone else validate your experiences.
But it was so poorly written! (Blatant grammar mistakes! I cannot abide!) And there’s nothing really redemptive or instructive here: it’s just a woman telling you how her husband repeatedly lied and cheated on her, and how shocked she was when she first found out because she thought he was the perfect husband. Right. I got that from the book jacket.
There were several hints that implied her parents are very wealthy, which makes me suspect that perhaps she has connections in the publishing industry? Because I’m really having a hard time understanding how this got picked up by a major publisher.
melissakuzma's review against another edition
4.0
If I learned one thing from this book, it's that donald trump is definitely a psychopath.
sephlav's review against another edition
1.0
I don’t often hate a book quite like I hated this one, but boy did I ever hate it.
This opinion comes from bias. I know this. But hey, opinions are subjective. First off, when I’m being sold a memoir of marriage and betrayal, I’m expecting some major drama honey. Something, you know, MEMOIR worthy. But…her husband…cheated. And lied about it. And got caught. Maybe I’m heartless but ???
And THEN she spins it as being this massive redemption story about surviving a sociopath/psychopath and while I don’t really believe in those terms…I think it might be a stretch. Like yes, this guy is an asshole. Yes, what happened to her is tragic. But it wasn’t (to me) all out of the ordinary insane and it seemed to be just a self serving story of exaggerated victimhood fuelled by close family and acquaintances who were way too close to the situation.
And unfortunately, if that wasn’t bad enough, the writing was really bad. Like, thirteen year old girl on tumblr bad. Made me visibly cringe and sigh out loud bad.
I genuinely don’t enjoy dragging books through the mud like this, especially not non fiction books where there is a real person involved, but with this one, I genuinely couldn’t help it. It was just such a massive waste of my time.
This opinion comes from bias. I know this. But hey, opinions are subjective. First off, when I’m being sold a memoir of marriage and betrayal, I’m expecting some major drama honey. Something, you know, MEMOIR worthy. But…her husband…cheated. And lied about it. And got caught. Maybe I’m heartless but ???
And THEN she spins it as being this massive redemption story about surviving a sociopath/psychopath and while I don’t really believe in those terms…I think it might be a stretch. Like yes, this guy is an asshole. Yes, what happened to her is tragic. But it wasn’t (to me) all out of the ordinary insane and it seemed to be just a self serving story of exaggerated victimhood fuelled by close family and acquaintances who were way too close to the situation.
And unfortunately, if that wasn’t bad enough, the writing was really bad. Like, thirteen year old girl on tumblr bad. Made me visibly cringe and sigh out loud bad.
I genuinely don’t enjoy dragging books through the mud like this, especially not non fiction books where there is a real person involved, but with this one, I genuinely couldn’t help it. It was just such a massive waste of my time.