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A review by lydiastorytime
The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter
5.0
This story is beautifully written. I love all of the images of water and I relate so deeply to those images as well as many aspects of this story. I loved that this book showed a realistic picture of mothers and wives who abuse, fathers who neglected and are abused. It’s not the narrative that we often see around domestic abuse but it’s one I lived with growing up. The way her mother switched moods so quickly and lived in a fantasy were so realistic and relatable. The description of her fathers whole body being a sigh struck so true to my story. I have never read a book where I saw my parents and my experience of them reflected so clearly. This kind of representation matters so much and was so healing. It’s healing to feel so understood by a story and so connected to characters. The primal ache for a mother and knowing yours never was one is so beautiful described. So many times in this story I felt like the author had been reading my thoughts all my life.
My only complaint is that I wanted more. I always long for books to show a fuller recovery process. The last chapter did this with a few sentences to wrap things up. I just wish to see more representation of the time and work recovery takes and that journey as well as the one to start recovery. I think the ending made sense with the flow of the story though. But I know it’s a sign of a good book when I want more or feel like I will miss the world of the story.
Im so thankful for this book. I’m so thankful for people like me who survive and the people who see us and write our stories. Feeling seen even by a work of fiction is deeply meaningful especially for survivors of abuse who so often feel invisible. Thank you.
My only complaint is that I wanted more. I always long for books to show a fuller recovery process. The last chapter did this with a few sentences to wrap things up. I just wish to see more representation of the time and work recovery takes and that journey as well as the one to start recovery. I think the ending made sense with the flow of the story though. But I know it’s a sign of a good book when I want more or feel like I will miss the world of the story.
Im so thankful for this book. I’m so thankful for people like me who survive and the people who see us and write our stories. Feeling seen even by a work of fiction is deeply meaningful especially for survivors of abuse who so often feel invisible. Thank you.