Search This Blog








2022 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (2)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (2)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (5)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (2)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
Antarctica (1)
Australia (2)
Egypt (2)
England (11)
Italy (1)
Nepal (1)
Romania (1)
Scotland (3)
Sweden (1)








The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge 2022

2022 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

Friday, June 20, 2008
Stand A Powerful Little Book
1:00 AM

Debbie's story begins long before her birth. Stand tells the stories of her mother and grandmother - two women who suffer from parental neglect as well as emotional and sexual abuse. The family's horrific "legacy" persists into Debbie's generation. Not only is she raped by a trusted uncle, but her mother ignores her, and both parents cheat on each other repeatedly. Her home life in shambles, Debbie turns to drugs, sex, and partying to fill up her life. Not surprisingly, she finds herself pregnant at 16.
Because it is "the right thing to do," the young couple marry. At first, Debbie adores her new life as a wife and mother. It's not long, however, before the union begins deteriorating. Joe turns to alcohol and prostitutes to escape the prison of married life. At home with her children all day, Debbie suffers from depression, which is only exacerbated by the daily insults Joe screams at her. Overwhelmed by both her past and her present, she loses control. When she owns up to how much time she's spending drinking, arguing with her husband, yelling at her kids, and sleeping around, Debbie realizes she's become the one thing she never wanted to be - her mother.
Finally at the end of her rope, Debbie enrolls in a kind of therapy boot camp. The program empowers her, giving her the strength to overcome her struggles. It doesn't make her life perfect, but it marks the beginning of a bright, new future.
On her website, Debbie explains that her original intention was to write out her experiences as a sort of journal for her children. Stand certainly reads more like a diary - with grammatical errors; fluctuating tense, shifting points of view; and lack of organization - than a polished book. Simple and heartfelt, Debbie's words do get the message across, just not with the panache of a well-written memoir. It also has a psychic/voices of the dead aspect that tarnishes the author's credibility - at least for those of us who don't believe in such things.
What I do admire about this book is Debbie's honesty. She explains on her website how reluctant she was to share her story with the world. Although she didn't want her family to suffer from the exposure of its dark secrets, she bravely took the risk. She doesn't sugarcoat her experiences or try to make herself look like the perfect wife and mother. Admittedly, she lays much of the blame for her family's dysfunctionality on the males, but she doesn't sugarcoat her own shortcomings either. She confesses that not all of her relationships have healed, but that through forgiveness, honesty and time, she's sure they will. The chapter on forgiveness particularly moved me. In Debbie's words:
He wasn't a monster to me anymore. Instead, he became a little person who had made a horrible mistake. I forgave him. I didn't have to ask God anymore how to forgive. I finally knew how (131).
Child abuse does not rank highly on my list of Favorite Subjects to Read About, so I haven't read a lot of books like Stand. I have no doubt there are better-written books on the subject. However, I don't regret reading this one. It could use some serious editing, but all in all, it's a pretty powerful little book.
Grade: B-

(Book Image from Barnes & Noble)
2 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Farm to Trouble by Amanda Flower

Listening
The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
Royally Rearranged2 hours ago
-
-
The Paris Apartment6 hours ago
-
Writing Wrap-Up ~ April-May 2022 recap8 hours ago
-
I've been reading...11 hours ago
-
Book Lovers by Emily Henry12 hours ago
-
Wordless Wednesday ~ Strawberries13 hours ago
-
Fallen Creed by Alex Kava13 hours ago
-
Can’t Wait Wednesday!14 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Our Last Days in Barcelona [Book Review]22 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday #191 day ago
-
[May 24]: Life Lately1 day ago
-
-
63. One Good Deed2 days ago
-
-
-
-
Sunday Salon: May 22, 20223 days ago
-
-
Weekly Update for May 22, 20223 days ago
-
-
-
-
An Honest Lie by Tarryn Fisher4 weeks ago
-
Chirp Audiobooks - A Review4 weeks ago
-
-
-
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova2 months ago
-
THE VALET'S SECRET by Josi S Kilpack2 months ago
-
-
-
Cybils Awards 2021: The End3 months ago
-
2022 Reading Log3 months ago
-
Back to the Classics 20224 months ago
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
I read another review of this one earlier this evening. It does sound like a difficult book to read and I imagine it was difficult for the author to write as well.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog... it is a delicious find! I am excited to go cruise your archives!
ReplyDelete