It’s Hump Day and therefore time to talk about reading. I’m reading an older book titled CRUEL DECEPTION by Gregg Olsen. I bought it because I recognized the author as one I’ve read before and liked. I believe I read a fiction book by him, and this is my first nonfiction. This is the story of a mother with Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy, which a mental health condition in which the person–usually a mother–is faking symptoms in their child, or causing actual harm in their child to get attention and kind of play hero. The book covers how this mother was discovered, and I assume prosecuted, but I’m only a quarter to a third into the book. What I really like is the driver in some of the treating medical personal, social workers and prosecutors here digging hard for real concrete facts to protect a child. I also appreciate the author’s style, he is NOT describing the abuse up close and sickening the reader (at least so far). I can read this with a reasonable amount of outrage, but I’m not haunted by it. I can’t read up close child abuse. But I can read where medical and legal teams are trying to figure out what happened and take us along with them, if that makes sense. He’s also painting a picture of who this woman was, and why it’s generally thought she did these things. Along with portraits of people around her, what they saw and believed was or wasn’t happening and why.

I’m also listening to a book my daughter in law recommended, THE BROKEN GIRLS by Simone St. James. I haven’t gotten far into this one because I found myself not listening as closely as this book needs. This happens to me on audio books that I like once in a while — usually they are books that I should have consumed in print form. This book switches timelines, and it’s important I follow it closer than I often do in audio. So now I’m saving it for when I’m really listening.

What are you reading?