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Informally Educated: True Tale of Child Abuse, Survival and Murder
An amazing story about overcoming tremendous obstacles, including abuse.M Gusby WSAV3 Ga The road that led Kennesaw Taylor back to Milledgeville was marked with a non-existent childhood, a madman and murder. Jonathan Jackson Union Recorder Milledgeville Ga A horrific story, not a horror story. A good book, not a happy book. I m amazed he lived through all this.Laura Starling
- GenresTrue Crime
Nook
First published March 18, 2010
14 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
About the author
Kennesaw Taylor
16 books16 followersKennesaw Taylor is a Southern Author. He is a survivor of and advocate against child abuse. His weekly column, in several papers, is in its forth uninterrupted year. The stories and photographs of his travels and life continue to reward him with new friends and followers from around the world. His work can now be found on hundreds of web sites and online news sources.
Born in Milledgeville, Georgia, he travels continuously and now resides temporarily in Miami, Florida to develop several projects. Kennesaw is a versatile and prolific writer, capable of writing on a variety of subjects.
His first book Informally Educated is a non-fiction that chronicles his early childhood. It is a graphic, detailed account of his family’s struggle to survive an encounter with a mad man. This book continues to sell worldwide, to social workers, teachers and survivors.
As with many survivors, Kennesaw used humor to break the cycle of abuse. His weekly column pokes fun at anyone not fast enough to get out of the way. I’m Ugly And Broke, I Got The South In My Mouth and the soon to be released I’ve Fallen And My Names Not Chuck, are compilations of his humor.
The Redneck Cooker is a humorous southern cookbook. It lays the blame for his formidable cooking skills on those who made him the redneck cooker he is, that is to say the women he grew up with.
The recently released, The Vampire’s Shadow, is a fiction. It is the story of the struggle between good and evil and begs the question, is a vampire evil, or is man the ultimate evil? An erotic thriller, it is infused with sex, blood and explicit death. The Vampire’s Shadow takes place in Columbia, South Carolina and is the first the series. The Goddess Of Ocean Drive, being written on location in South Beach, is the second.
Upcoming works
B4:20: The story of one young man’s trip, down the reaper’s road. Follow Jaime Farmer as he begins a journey that many make and few return from. It’s an ugly tale of a descent into drug, alcohol and sexual addiction. The fictional follow up to Informally Educated, this book shadows those abused children who become abusers of anything that deadens their memories and fears. Many start on such paths by the age of eleven and die before the age of twenty.
Swab Dogs: A military fiction based loosely on actual events and places, trails an elite military unit supplanted in the US Navy as it travels around the world to identify and resolve problems other organization cannot touch.
Rapp 66: The second in the Swab Dogs series follows the dogs as they fight and eradicate pirates in the South China Sea.
Upon completing his Miami projects, Kennesaw and his wife Mary Carmen, a poet, have plans to relocate to Peru to write the third book in both, The Vampire’s Shadow and the Swab Dog sagas, on location in Lima. He will also finish The Cuban Cane Cutter, a book that takes place in Miami, Cuba and Lima, Peru.
Born in Milledgeville, Georgia, he travels continuously and now resides temporarily in Miami, Florida to develop several projects. Kennesaw is a versatile and prolific writer, capable of writing on a variety of subjects.
His first book Informally Educated is a non-fiction that chronicles his early childhood. It is a graphic, detailed account of his family’s struggle to survive an encounter with a mad man. This book continues to sell worldwide, to social workers, teachers and survivors.
As with many survivors, Kennesaw used humor to break the cycle of abuse. His weekly column pokes fun at anyone not fast enough to get out of the way. I’m Ugly And Broke, I Got The South In My Mouth and the soon to be released I’ve Fallen And My Names Not Chuck, are compilations of his humor.
The Redneck Cooker is a humorous southern cookbook. It lays the blame for his formidable cooking skills on those who made him the redneck cooker he is, that is to say the women he grew up with.
The recently released, The Vampire’s Shadow, is a fiction. It is the story of the struggle between good and evil and begs the question, is a vampire evil, or is man the ultimate evil? An erotic thriller, it is infused with sex, blood and explicit death. The Vampire’s Shadow takes place in Columbia, South Carolina and is the first the series. The Goddess Of Ocean Drive, being written on location in South Beach, is the second.
Upcoming works
B4:20: The story of one young man’s trip, down the reaper’s road. Follow Jaime Farmer as he begins a journey that many make and few return from. It’s an ugly tale of a descent into drug, alcohol and sexual addiction. The fictional follow up to Informally Educated, this book shadows those abused children who become abusers of anything that deadens their memories and fears. Many start on such paths by the age of eleven and die before the age of twenty.
Swab Dogs: A military fiction based loosely on actual events and places, trails an elite military unit supplanted in the US Navy as it travels around the world to identify and resolve problems other organization cannot touch.
Rapp 66: The second in the Swab Dogs series follows the dogs as they fight and eradicate pirates in the South China Sea.
Upon completing his Miami projects, Kennesaw and his wife Mary Carmen, a poet, have plans to relocate to Peru to write the third book in both, The Vampire’s Shadow and the Swab Dog sagas, on location in Lima. He will also finish The Cuban Cane Cutter, a book that takes place in Miami, Cuba and Lima, Peru.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 25, 2010
Wow! While this was very hard to read because some of the things were close to home I have to thank the author for writing it! Very good!
December 6, 2011
Author Kennesaw Taylor introduces us to the dark, underbelly world of child abuse. The story centers on an 8-yr-old Davie Brown. Davie is living the life every child should have, until his mother begins dating a man named Jack Cooper. Suddenly, the lives of Davie and his family are changed, with Jack terrorizing him and his family at every moment. The abuse ranges from time away from school to brutal beatings. Taylor, a survivor of child abuse himself, enlightens us on the horrors of child abuse, and the measures we should make to end it.
Though this book was written with sincere intentions, the book was somewhat appalling. Several moments in the book left me quite queasy. I deeply emphasize with Kennesaw and victims of domestic abuse. But it seems much of the book was over exaggerated. It seemed as if Taylor wanted the audience to gain a deep hatred toward Jack. Whether these were feelings he shared with the ones accountable for hurting him, is unknown. The most terrifying and intense moments had rather a comedic tone to them. It was as if Saw and the Freddy Kruger films were mixed together, to produce a cheap splatter flick script, but fancying it a "book". Overall, I found this book to be quite mediocre, despite Kennesaw’s good intentions.
Though this book was written with sincere intentions, the book was somewhat appalling. Several moments in the book left me quite queasy. I deeply emphasize with Kennesaw and victims of domestic abuse. But it seems much of the book was over exaggerated. It seemed as if Taylor wanted the audience to gain a deep hatred toward Jack. Whether these were feelings he shared with the ones accountable for hurting him, is unknown. The most terrifying and intense moments had rather a comedic tone to them. It was as if Saw and the Freddy Kruger films were mixed together, to produce a cheap splatter flick script, but fancying it a "book". Overall, I found this book to be quite mediocre, despite Kennesaw’s good intentions.
January 8, 2012
An incredible story of abuse, but more importantly, a story of survival. It is hard to believe what this poor child went through. It is tragic that this level of abuse could occur in our country without anyone stepping forward to help. Congratulations, Mr. Taylor, on moving through your abuse and stopping the cycle in your own family.
May 27, 2021
It is hard to believe anyone could treat another human being the way these children were treated! Yet I know it happens. It makes me sick to my stomach! I knew when I started this book that I shouldn’t do it, yet I continued on, not enjoying it, but not being able to stop either. I know something of abuse as I have two adopted daughters who were terribly abused as children. When one in particular tries to tell me of some of the things she went through, I can only scream and beg her to stop because at that moment it makes me want to kill someone. How either of them turned into the incredibly kind, loving and productive individuals that they are is nothing short of miraculous! It is the same for this boy!, now a good man I admire him so much, and his siblings, for fighting through this hideous past and becoming good people.
April 6, 2025
I struggled with how to rate/review this one. While I feel for the entire family and know the trauma that this must have caused I can't exactly say I enjoyed the book. I was just glad to be done with it. I do believe that Jack was evil but also that he was a product of his environment as well. I think it takes a lot of courage to write about one's own abuse and trauma. I do just feel icky about the chapter on the rioting that happened at the Savannah middle school. I think it was the phrasing there. I also couldn't find any news or factual information to back that up. Overall, a quick and heartbreaking look at severe child abuse.
December 2, 2011
Jack became the person he is in the book and how he beat up his family really badly that it hard to imagine. Gives details on what Jack put Davie, his sister Angel, and his mother through all there life. Wasn't easy for them even when trying to escape from Jack but somehow he finds out or find ways of not letting them leave period. Tell about how Davie misses a lot of school just because of Jack teaching him to steal and cheat people out of money on their cars. Talks about how Jack makes Davie do a lot of things that he wants to be done by a certain time or before coming home and how he would punish him if it not done or if it not the way he wants it to be. Talks about how Davie's mother try to kill herself a lot of times but always made through. Tells how many people knew about Davie and his family are being beaten but no one stand up or says anything about the issue which makes me even more upset because no one is willing to help.
Having read this book it hard to not wonder about the kid who are getting abuse and are going through what Davie has gone through. I already know or had the idea of how badly abuse can be but after having read these book it made me wonder how much worse it could really be. Having read these book there were a few parts that I can't stop thinking about that I'm not welling to repeat. But also this book had a few parts that I had trouble following and really didn't understand like for the most part about him talking in a third person or first. When it was coming to the end I thought about how the ending might end up ending which I had an idea but it ended up not ending the way I thought it would but in order to figure out what happens in the end with Jack you have to read these book. Overall this book was good and sad that a kid had to go through a lot of pain and suffering but really over came the odds of making.
Having read this book it hard to not wonder about the kid who are getting abuse and are going through what Davie has gone through. I already know or had the idea of how badly abuse can be but after having read these book it made me wonder how much worse it could really be. Having read these book there were a few parts that I can't stop thinking about that I'm not welling to repeat. But also this book had a few parts that I had trouble following and really didn't understand like for the most part about him talking in a third person or first. When it was coming to the end I thought about how the ending might end up ending which I had an idea but it ended up not ending the way I thought it would but in order to figure out what happens in the end with Jack you have to read these book. Overall this book was good and sad that a kid had to go through a lot of pain and suffering but really over came the odds of making.
December 5, 2011
This book was based on a true story. The author of this book wrote about the way he lived his childhood life. He didn't have a normal childhood like one would usually have. He lived in what we can call Hell. His mother happened to get involved with a monster named Jack and couldn't get rid of him. Jack was a brutal man ever since he was a teen. He tortured Davie, the author of this book, and his family in any way possible. What was worse is the fact that they could have gotten away from him a few times yet they chose not to. Fear got in their path as well as in everyone else's. As much as one would want to help this family out, they were too scared in doing so. Davie describes brutal and painful events throughout this story as well as lessons he learned through out his life. At the end of this book, it's clear in why he decided to share his past.
I personally thought I would be capable of reading this book. However, some events were too graphic, which made it hard to continue on. At times, I didn't want to continue due to knowing that Davie and others weren't able to stop Jack. Many witnessed the brutal things Jack did and didn't do anything to stop him. Cops ended up letting him get away with a horrible action as well. This book not only angered me but brought tears to my eyes as well. I thought this book had many emotions involved. I recommend this book to those that can handle horrible, painful things. I also recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how it feels to get hurt in any possible way. This book really opens one'e eyes. It opened mine.
I personally thought I would be capable of reading this book. However, some events were too graphic, which made it hard to continue on. At times, I didn't want to continue due to knowing that Davie and others weren't able to stop Jack. Many witnessed the brutal things Jack did and didn't do anything to stop him. Cops ended up letting him get away with a horrible action as well. This book not only angered me but brought tears to my eyes as well. I thought this book had many emotions involved. I recommend this book to those that can handle horrible, painful things. I also recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how it feels to get hurt in any possible way. This book really opens one'e eyes. It opened mine.
December 8, 2011
What an interesting book this was, and very graphic. Jack is the worst human being i have ever heard of. Jack would beat on his wife, and step children. He even killed a cat in this book because it was eating at his food. Jack also beat on other people, other than his family. Parents would hand their kids over to Jack so that Jack would straighten them up. Jack once beat a kid everyday to see if he would stop being gay. Obviously that would never change the kids but Jack thought he was doing a perfect job. At the end of the book to read that Jack killed many people.
I chose to read this book because it was a true story, but after reading it i don't ever want to read it again. It was too much for me to read what Davie and his family had to go through. I don't know what kind of animal does that to his family and gets away with it. I hated how nobody did anything for this family; they just sat there and watched them go through so much pain. Kennesaw Taylor says at the end that child abuse is preventable, but i once saw a mom beat her little girl and i immediately called the police, but they did nothing. They said that was a parenting style. So, i am not very sure its preventable, at least from what i have seen.
I give this book a 3 because it was very graphic in some parts and those parts are something i really don't want to re-read. But i do recommend this to people who like to read about true stories.
I chose to read this book because it was a true story, but after reading it i don't ever want to read it again. It was too much for me to read what Davie and his family had to go through. I don't know what kind of animal does that to his family and gets away with it. I hated how nobody did anything for this family; they just sat there and watched them go through so much pain. Kennesaw Taylor says at the end that child abuse is preventable, but i once saw a mom beat her little girl and i immediately called the police, but they did nothing. They said that was a parenting style. So, i am not very sure its preventable, at least from what i have seen.
I give this book a 3 because it was very graphic in some parts and those parts are something i really don't want to re-read. But i do recommend this to people who like to read about true stories.
July 31, 2013
This was a heart-breaking read. One of the worst cases of child abuse I've heard of. I'm speechless at the cruelty the author endured and that his step-father was able to get away with so much while others stood by and did nothing. I salute the author for having the courage to tell his story and confront the demons that child abuse visits upon its victims. His mission to expose child abuse to save other victims is very brave.
March 20, 2014
This was a heart wrenching tale of an evil stepfather who abused his wife and step children. Jack was a cruel bastard of a man and I felt so bad for Davey and his family but at the same time I don't understand why the mom kept going back. A mothers natural instinct is to protect her young and she failed miserably at this.
December 6, 2011
This book is not a book for the weak. It is extremely graphic. If you like a good suspenseful book this book is for you. If you think all of the world is prefect. Then read this book, you will realize what people go through on a daily basis.
April 21, 2012
This book had me in tears since I relate to childhood abuse.I must say that this was written with raw painful reality and to share your story to the public takes a lot of guts.I especially liked that the author added contacts for abuse for everyone.Kudos for courage Mr.Taylor!
March 12, 2013
Difficult for me to criticize the writer. It's a small miracle he's alive given the odds he had to overcome. I did find the book choppy and hard to follow. Having said that, I sincerely hope the author and his sister have found peace.
March 5, 2016
Not for just anyone--may touch what you want to keep hidden. I almost put it down a few times.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews