A review by eyereadwhatiread126
A Nest of Snakes by Deborah Vadas Levison
5.0
My review is as always, late to the party. I must start by saying search triggers for this - reading is fabulous, mental health care and consideration is also fabulous!
I loved this book! I am so glad the author offered to send me it to read, and appreciated the patience they face when real life got in my way!
Synopsis:
In A NEST OF SNAKES, Brendan Cortland is a broken man. Middle-aged, pasty, pudgy, and fearful, he suffers from chronic depression, nightmares, and agoraphobia. His contact with the outside world is limited to trolling chatrooms, where he hunts pedophiles, and a weekly session with his psychiatrist, to whom he describes dreams of being devoured by predators. The doctor suspects catastrophic abuse, and maybe something more; but in all his years of therapy Brendan never divulged the deepest source of his trauma.
Pushed to his breaking point, Brendan embarks on a quest for justice. It’s the terrifying step he’s avoided for decades: going public with his story. His lawyer warns him that testifying might mean dredging up painful memories, ones he’d rather keep buried.
Still, no one is prepared for the horrible secrets and revelations that emerge during the trial … least of all Brendan himself.
This book gutted me and had me all in my feels. It’s raw and real, twists and turns and tackles heavy topics. The way the author writes it though is just enough to make it digestible to read without going overboard. It goes into Brendan’s past and you find out what happens, and what currently is going on for him and through therapy tells his story.
The book is courageous, and reminds us this happens to boys too, not just girls and how one person speaking up can speak for so many!
I will be buying the physical copy to have on my shelf, since I read this in February and am still thinking about this book!
I loved this book! I am so glad the author offered to send me it to read, and appreciated the patience they face when real life got in my way!
Synopsis:
In A NEST OF SNAKES, Brendan Cortland is a broken man. Middle-aged, pasty, pudgy, and fearful, he suffers from chronic depression, nightmares, and agoraphobia. His contact with the outside world is limited to trolling chatrooms, where he hunts pedophiles, and a weekly session with his psychiatrist, to whom he describes dreams of being devoured by predators. The doctor suspects catastrophic abuse, and maybe something more; but in all his years of therapy Brendan never divulged the deepest source of his trauma.
Pushed to his breaking point, Brendan embarks on a quest for justice. It’s the terrifying step he’s avoided for decades: going public with his story. His lawyer warns him that testifying might mean dredging up painful memories, ones he’d rather keep buried.
Still, no one is prepared for the horrible secrets and revelations that emerge during the trial … least of all Brendan himself.
This book gutted me and had me all in my feels. It’s raw and real, twists and turns and tackles heavy topics. The way the author writes it though is just enough to make it digestible to read without going overboard. It goes into Brendan’s past and you find out what happens, and what currently is going on for him and through therapy tells his story.
The book is courageous, and reminds us this happens to boys too, not just girls and how one person speaking up can speak for so many!
I will be buying the physical copy to have on my shelf, since I read this in February and am still thinking about this book!