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Beautiful
A harrowing but ultimately inspiring memoir of how one girl's beautiful face and spirit was destroyed after a vicious acid attack
I heard a horrible screaming sound, like an animal being slaughtered . . . then I realised it was me.
When Katie Piper was 24, her life was near perfect. Young and beautiful, she was well on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a model. But then she met Daniel Lynch on Facebook and her world quickly turned into a nightmare. After being held captive and brutally raped by her new boyfriend, Katie was subjected to a vicious acid attack. Within seconds, this bright and bubbly girl could feel her looks and the life she loved melting away. This is the moving true story of how one young woman had her mind, body, and spirit cruelly snatched from her and how she inspired millions with her fight to get them back.
I heard a horrible screaming sound, like an animal being slaughtered . . . then I realised it was me.
When Katie Piper was 24, her life was near perfect. Young and beautiful, she was well on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a model. But then she met Daniel Lynch on Facebook and her world quickly turned into a nightmare. After being held captive and brutally raped by her new boyfriend, Katie was subjected to a vicious acid attack. Within seconds, this bright and bubbly girl could feel her looks and the life she loved melting away. This is the moving true story of how one young woman had her mind, body, and spirit cruelly snatched from her and how she inspired millions with her fight to get them back.
314 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
133 people are currently reading
1799 people want to read
About the author
Katie Piper
38 books124 followersKate Elizabeth "Katie" Piper (born 12 October 1983) is a philanthropist, television presenter and former model from Andover, Hampshire in England, UK. Piper had hoped to have a full-time career in the media, but in March 2008 sulphuric acid was thrown in her face. The attack, which blinded Piper in one eye, was arranged by Piper's ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, and carried out by an accomplice, Stefan Sylvestre. Lynch and Sylvestre were arrested and are serving life sentences in prison for their crimes.[1]
The attack took place in north London and Piper was treated in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where the surgeons removed all the skin from her face before rebuilding it with a skin substitute and then a skin graft. The procedure was the first of its kind to be completed in a single operation.[2][3]
In 2009, Piper chose to give up her anonymity in order to increase awareness about burn victims. The Channel 4 documentary Katie: My Beautiful Face was first aired on 29 October 2009 as part of the Cutting Edge series; it has subsequently been repeated on several occasions, made available for online on-demand access, and sold internationally.
More recently, Piper has appeared in a follow-up series for Channel 4, released a best-selling autobiography, and had a regular column in weekly magazine Reveal; however, she primarily works for her charitable organisation the Katie Piper Foundation.
The attack took place in north London and Piper was treated in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where the surgeons removed all the skin from her face before rebuilding it with a skin substitute and then a skin graft. The procedure was the first of its kind to be completed in a single operation.[2][3]
In 2009, Piper chose to give up her anonymity in order to increase awareness about burn victims. The Channel 4 documentary Katie: My Beautiful Face was first aired on 29 October 2009 as part of the Cutting Edge series; it has subsequently been repeated on several occasions, made available for online on-demand access, and sold internationally.
More recently, Piper has appeared in a follow-up series for Channel 4, released a best-selling autobiography, and had a regular column in weekly magazine Reveal; however, she primarily works for her charitable organisation the Katie Piper Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews
September 5, 2011
I must admit, I’m not a big fan of books that people deem to be “misery memoirs” (I do not like that term). You know the kind: a parent abused their child/an outside person abused a child/drink addictions/drug addictions/etc. However, there are a few memoirs like that I’ve read. I absolutely loved “Ugly” by Constance Briscoe. It was so honest, so raw and despite being a tough read, I did like it. So when I was emailed about Katie Piper’s memoir I was intrigued. I’d read her story in one of the weekly magazines – Take A Break or Chat or That’s Life or Pick Me Up or something, I can’t remember. It vaguely rang a bell with me, however and I was interested to learn more about what had happened to Katie.
Beautiful is a hard book to read. Katie’s spirit immediately leaps out of the pages as the book starts with her recounting her love of everything as a child. How she liked dressing up but how she also liked helping her dad with DIY projects so when you go to the part where Katie meets the man who’s going to ruin her life it is hard to continue. It baffles me – in fact, I don’t think baffles is a strong enough word – that there are human beings on this planet who do such bad things like that. How somebody can be so sick as to tell someone else to throw acid in somebody’s face. It’s unfathomable. It’s heartbreaking to read how Katie was trying to make her mark in the TV presenting world and all of a sudden her face is ruined and she’s struggling with staying alive.
It’s the kind of book you have to read to really believe. I know there are monsters everywhere in the world – people who murder, who abuse, who harm, who throw acid – but to read such a harrowing account of it, from the victim’s point of view is just amazing but not in that kind of way. What really makes this book amazing, though, is Katie’s eventual determination to not let the men ruin her life. Anybody who had their face ruined the way Katie did – and not just her face, but her life, her trust in people, her trust in leaving her house or the hospital – would be within their rights to curl up in a ball and wait to die. To never leave the house again. But not Katie Piper. Sure, her situation gets her down and it takes her time to go out in the world again, but she eventually realised she couldn’t let it ruin her life forever and the way she’s turned her life around is something special. Her life may not be what it once was, but she’s just got on with it and made the best of what life she has now.
Katie Piper is an inspiration. I felt humbled reading the book because I complain about the smallest things and yet look at what she’s gone through. Look at what she’s fought against and come back from. I think I’m a pretty strong person, but I don’t know if I could come back from something like that. Beautiful is an inspiring read and Katie is a heck of a person. As I said, I only vaguely knew her story when I heard about her book but to read Beautiful is so much more than reading a small article. This is Katie’s story, how it all happened from start to finish (well, not finish, to how her life is now) and it’s a mightily impressive read. Katie Piper can hold her head up high, which might sound twee but it’s true. She won. Those people who tried to destroy her life failed because look at her. Sure, it’s not the life she imagined for herself, but it’s a damn sight better than it could have been and she hasn’t half made lemonade from the lemons she was given. A truly inspiring read.
Beautiful is a hard book to read. Katie’s spirit immediately leaps out of the pages as the book starts with her recounting her love of everything as a child. How she liked dressing up but how she also liked helping her dad with DIY projects so when you go to the part where Katie meets the man who’s going to ruin her life it is hard to continue. It baffles me – in fact, I don’t think baffles is a strong enough word – that there are human beings on this planet who do such bad things like that. How somebody can be so sick as to tell someone else to throw acid in somebody’s face. It’s unfathomable. It’s heartbreaking to read how Katie was trying to make her mark in the TV presenting world and all of a sudden her face is ruined and she’s struggling with staying alive.
It’s the kind of book you have to read to really believe. I know there are monsters everywhere in the world – people who murder, who abuse, who harm, who throw acid – but to read such a harrowing account of it, from the victim’s point of view is just amazing but not in that kind of way. What really makes this book amazing, though, is Katie’s eventual determination to not let the men ruin her life. Anybody who had their face ruined the way Katie did – and not just her face, but her life, her trust in people, her trust in leaving her house or the hospital – would be within their rights to curl up in a ball and wait to die. To never leave the house again. But not Katie Piper. Sure, her situation gets her down and it takes her time to go out in the world again, but she eventually realised she couldn’t let it ruin her life forever and the way she’s turned her life around is something special. Her life may not be what it once was, but she’s just got on with it and made the best of what life she has now.
Katie Piper is an inspiration. I felt humbled reading the book because I complain about the smallest things and yet look at what she’s gone through. Look at what she’s fought against and come back from. I think I’m a pretty strong person, but I don’t know if I could come back from something like that. Beautiful is an inspiring read and Katie is a heck of a person. As I said, I only vaguely knew her story when I heard about her book but to read Beautiful is so much more than reading a small article. This is Katie’s story, how it all happened from start to finish (well, not finish, to how her life is now) and it’s a mightily impressive read. Katie Piper can hold her head up high, which might sound twee but it’s true. She won. Those people who tried to destroy her life failed because look at her. Sure, it’s not the life she imagined for herself, but it’s a damn sight better than it could have been and she hasn’t half made lemonade from the lemons she was given. A truly inspiring read.
March 13, 2012
Katie Piper's memoir of her journey through trauma to triumph is one of the most moving books I have ever read. She is absolutely raw on the page, exposing the darkest and lightest parts of her experience in equal measure and inviting the reader to view her very soul. It must have taken such courage to share herself so completely with the world.
But I suppose that's the thing that constantly strikes you about Katie as you read through these pages, her courage. She is tougher and stronger than I think she even acknowledges and an example to all of us of the gratitude and bravery we should display in our own lives.
There were certainly parts of this book that were difficult to read, including some scenes of sexual violence. As a woman, I was horrified by what she had been through, by what had been done to her and by the daily psychological challenges she has to face. My admiration for her grew with each page I read as did my disgust for the heinous monsters who attacked her. 16 years seems too short a sentence for such violent and disturbing crimes.
Katie's determination to not let them beat her and to build a new and rewarding life for herself was amazing. She has endured countless surgeries and hospital visits and rebuilt herself both physically and mentally. And she is still an absolutely gorgeous young woman! I encourage you to look up the Katie Piper Foundation and learn more about the work she and her team do for burns victims.
Katie, the world is lucky to have you and your beautiful smile in it. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
But I suppose that's the thing that constantly strikes you about Katie as you read through these pages, her courage. She is tougher and stronger than I think she even acknowledges and an example to all of us of the gratitude and bravery we should display in our own lives.
There were certainly parts of this book that were difficult to read, including some scenes of sexual violence. As a woman, I was horrified by what she had been through, by what had been done to her and by the daily psychological challenges she has to face. My admiration for her grew with each page I read as did my disgust for the heinous monsters who attacked her. 16 years seems too short a sentence for such violent and disturbing crimes.
Katie's determination to not let them beat her and to build a new and rewarding life for herself was amazing. She has endured countless surgeries and hospital visits and rebuilt herself both physically and mentally. And she is still an absolutely gorgeous young woman! I encourage you to look up the Katie Piper Foundation and learn more about the work she and her team do for burns victims.
Katie, the world is lucky to have you and your beautiful smile in it. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
October 9, 2011
“I’d never really thought much about God before. Mum and Dad weren’t religious, and I’d never gone to church or read the Bible, but I tried to take some comfort in Alice’s faith. For the first time in my life, I prayed to a God I’d never really believed in. ‘Please help me. Please give me strength. Please show me a way to get through this.’”
‘Everything’s going to be okay,’ a voice in my head said. ‘Your journey’s just begun. You’ll get through this.’
“For the very first time since Danny had ripped my life apart, I felt hope flutter inside me. He wouldn’t beat me. I wouldn’t let him.”
“I barely registered Dad leading me back to the ward. I was enveloped in a shock so great I could scarcely breathe. I couldn’t see the other patients or the nurses scurrying around – just that thing that had stared back at me from the mirror. It was like another head had been transplanted onto my body, one that I didn’t recognize in the slightest. How could someone look like that? How could I look like that?”
“The police had agreed to put Danny in one of those glass boxes; he couldn’t get me. he’d be locked inside.”
“In the last twelve months, I’d seen humanity at its worst, and its best, too. Had it made me a better person, deep down, underneath the scars?”
“…the judge’s sentencing remarks, which had also been quoted in all the news stories: ‘[The victim] had a face of pure beauty. You, Danny Lynch and Stefan Sylvestre, represent the face of pure evil.”
“’The facts of this case are chilling and shocking. You planned and then executed an act of pure, calculated and deliberate evil. You decided to wreck the victim’s life by thrusting a full container of sulphuric acid straight into her face from point blank range.’”
“’One of the hardest things about being disfigured is getting over how other people view or react to you.’”
My Review:
My Amazon records indicate that I purchased this book. I honestly don’t remember. I only know that I am glad I found the book and read it. It is an amazing story of courage and how one young woman fought back to live. I think the book blurb and the quotes I use speak for themselves in recommending this book. Beautiful details how Katie set her life goals and worked hard towards attaining them, only to have them ripped from her. She fought through adversity and won. I recommend this book and even though I do not rate books, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
‘Everything’s going to be okay,’ a voice in my head said. ‘Your journey’s just begun. You’ll get through this.’
“For the very first time since Danny had ripped my life apart, I felt hope flutter inside me. He wouldn’t beat me. I wouldn’t let him.”
“I barely registered Dad leading me back to the ward. I was enveloped in a shock so great I could scarcely breathe. I couldn’t see the other patients or the nurses scurrying around – just that thing that had stared back at me from the mirror. It was like another head had been transplanted onto my body, one that I didn’t recognize in the slightest. How could someone look like that? How could I look like that?”
“The police had agreed to put Danny in one of those glass boxes; he couldn’t get me. he’d be locked inside.”
“In the last twelve months, I’d seen humanity at its worst, and its best, too. Had it made me a better person, deep down, underneath the scars?”
“…the judge’s sentencing remarks, which had also been quoted in all the news stories: ‘[The victim] had a face of pure beauty. You, Danny Lynch and Stefan Sylvestre, represent the face of pure evil.”
“’The facts of this case are chilling and shocking. You planned and then executed an act of pure, calculated and deliberate evil. You decided to wreck the victim’s life by thrusting a full container of sulphuric acid straight into her face from point blank range.’”
“’One of the hardest things about being disfigured is getting over how other people view or react to you.’”
My Review:
My Amazon records indicate that I purchased this book. I honestly don’t remember. I only know that I am glad I found the book and read it. It is an amazing story of courage and how one young woman fought back to live. I think the book blurb and the quotes I use speak for themselves in recommending this book. Beautiful details how Katie set her life goals and worked hard towards attaining them, only to have them ripped from her. She fought through adversity and won. I recommend this book and even though I do not rate books, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
May 16, 2011
Traumatic! This was a very difficult book to read, although very readable. I read it with my eyes blurry with tears and tears running down my cheeks at some points. How any so-called human being could do to any other what was done to Katie is almost unimaginable! But she has come through it and is now stronger, an absolute inspiration, and a truly beautiful person both inside and out. She admits in the book that she still has bad days and I'm not surprised, but I'm sure they will get fewer as she continues getting better. I wish her every success now and in the future.
February 4, 2017
Beautiful is an autobiography of an assault and acid attack survivor Katie Piper. The book is a roller coaster of her emotions, all laid bare to us. About how her life went from being Near-perfect to being her worst nightmare and to being a fulfilling one with a lot of effort and with the support of many many amazing people.
The book does justice to its title. It is immensely inspiring and tells us that it's the contents that matter and not the container. That there always be monstrous people in the world, but there will also be twice the number of good people.
The book does justice to its title. It is immensely inspiring and tells us that it's the contents that matter and not the container. That there always be monstrous people in the world, but there will also be twice the number of good people.
March 31, 2015
Wow truly amazing woman she's been through so much..
November 16, 2012
Fantastic, heart-breaking, inspiring! I could NOT put it down.
I was vaguely familiar with Katie Piper's odyssey but after reading a couple of articles on the internet I bought the book. I pronounce this autobiography as the best of its particular type I have ever read.
Miss Piper's story is so fantastic that it reads more like a fictional account than something that really happened to a real person. For someone who absolutely relied on her beautiful appearance to make a living in British media, what happened to Katie was almost a fate worse than death. A jilted boyfriend brutally raped her, then had an accomplice throw industrial-strength sulphuric acid in her face! Her plastic surgeon said he had never seen a more horribly chemically burned face than Katie's. Her left eye had been blinded, she lost most of her left ear, most of her nose, her eyelids, and her esophagus was permanently damaged by swallowing acid to the point that she could not eat solid foods for a lengthy period of time.
Her story starts with her happy, optimistic childhood, her efforts to become a media celebrity in the U.K., the nightmarish destruction and disfigurement of her face, initially her wish to just die, her dozens of surgical treatments, her stark terror of men and morbid agoraphobia, her dedicated struggle to regain her appearance, and finally acceptance of her rebuilt face and her gratitude for all who helped her.
For someone who is not a professional writer, Katie's writing has impact, urgency, and conveys her innermost feelings with gripping emotion. The graphic photos of her burned face are simply horrifying. Katie's dramatic surgical results (and I do mean DRAMATIC) are the result of her plastic surgeon's decision to do a radical and never-before-tried full-face skin graft using a combination of actual donor skin and a recently developed artificial skin for the first time together. She also received several experimental therapy treatments at a burn clinic spa in France. Her discipline in undergoing a rigorous and painful rehabilitation regimen is a testimony to her striving to get her life back to something that would resemble "normal."
She now has her own full-time foundation where she raises funds for others who have been disfigured by burns, injuries, and birth defects. The "after" photos in the book show how miraculous her transformation has been. Even more recent pics in the British media show even more improvement. Her "before" and "after" images have to be seen to be believed!
Prepare to be mesmerized, thrilled, and emotionally caught up in Katie's heroic story of courage and hope.
I was vaguely familiar with Katie Piper's odyssey but after reading a couple of articles on the internet I bought the book. I pronounce this autobiography as the best of its particular type I have ever read.
Miss Piper's story is so fantastic that it reads more like a fictional account than something that really happened to a real person. For someone who absolutely relied on her beautiful appearance to make a living in British media, what happened to Katie was almost a fate worse than death. A jilted boyfriend brutally raped her, then had an accomplice throw industrial-strength sulphuric acid in her face! Her plastic surgeon said he had never seen a more horribly chemically burned face than Katie's. Her left eye had been blinded, she lost most of her left ear, most of her nose, her eyelids, and her esophagus was permanently damaged by swallowing acid to the point that she could not eat solid foods for a lengthy period of time.
Her story starts with her happy, optimistic childhood, her efforts to become a media celebrity in the U.K., the nightmarish destruction and disfigurement of her face, initially her wish to just die, her dozens of surgical treatments, her stark terror of men and morbid agoraphobia, her dedicated struggle to regain her appearance, and finally acceptance of her rebuilt face and her gratitude for all who helped her.
For someone who is not a professional writer, Katie's writing has impact, urgency, and conveys her innermost feelings with gripping emotion. The graphic photos of her burned face are simply horrifying. Katie's dramatic surgical results (and I do mean DRAMATIC) are the result of her plastic surgeon's decision to do a radical and never-before-tried full-face skin graft using a combination of actual donor skin and a recently developed artificial skin for the first time together. She also received several experimental therapy treatments at a burn clinic spa in France. Her discipline in undergoing a rigorous and painful rehabilitation regimen is a testimony to her striving to get her life back to something that would resemble "normal."
She now has her own full-time foundation where she raises funds for others who have been disfigured by burns, injuries, and birth defects. The "after" photos in the book show how miraculous her transformation has been. Even more recent pics in the British media show even more improvement. Her "before" and "after" images have to be seen to be believed!
Prepare to be mesmerized, thrilled, and emotionally caught up in Katie's heroic story of courage and hope.
June 27, 2025
I'm not a huge non fic fan but Katie retold her story in a beautiful and raw way. The honesty and emotions that Katie writes about are heartbreaking.
Read
February 23, 2014A book club choice (the best of a bad bunch), I've been embarrassed to have this on my bedside table in hospital and asked my partner to bring me a "proper" book to restore my literary street cred with the medical team. Beautiful has such a naff cover and font, it's one step down from beach lit... kiosk lit? Airport lit? It looks and reads like a 300 page edition of Grazia or another cheap women's magazine containing some woman's tragic but true story. The good thing about reading this coming out of surgery myself is that it kept my own health issues, operation and treatments in perspective. Reading Piper's horrific story makes me feel lucky about my own impending journey back to health.
There is no denying that Katie Piper has been through a terrible ordeal and made the best out of an awful situation by starting her foundation and looking to help others. Good for her! I hope that other burn victims get to benefit from the treatments she is hoping to implement in the UK with the help of her foundation.
There is no denying that Katie Piper has been through a terrible ordeal and made the best out of an awful situation by starting her foundation and looking to help others. Good for her! I hope that other burn victims get to benefit from the treatments she is hoping to implement in the UK with the help of her foundation.
June 19, 2011
This is one if the most tragic stories I've ever read. Katie Piper is so brave and inspiring. She tells her horrific story with such grace and honesty admitting just how difficult it was (and at times still is) to deal with how her life has dramatically changed.
I was very affected by this book and it opened up my eyes to just how dangerous people can be. I found her story was playing on my mind even when I wasn't reading the book.
Katie is a beautiful person inside and out and I urge anyone who reads this book to donate to her foundation to help other burns victims. www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk
I was very affected by this book and it opened up my eyes to just how dangerous people can be. I found her story was playing on my mind even when I wasn't reading the book.
Katie is a beautiful person inside and out and I urge anyone who reads this book to donate to her foundation to help other burns victims. www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk
September 9, 2014
This book was wonderful. I cried at many parts over the kindness and courage that people showed during such harrowing times. An evil man tried to ruin a beautiful girl's dreams that fateful day but he picked the wrong girl. Katie has a strength and beauty and kindness that even acid cannot touch. Her incredible journey from wannabe to victim to hero is something we need to hear to remind us that we must appreciate our lives now, we must never give up, things do get better and above all: love wins. Katie isn't just a beautiful girl who lost her face and then through strength and courage claimed it back, she is beauty, inside and out. She is beauty personified.
April 21, 2011
I saw Katie's documentary and have recently watched the series where she was setting up a foundation to help people with facial disfigurement. She was a very pretty girl breaking into modelling and tv presenting when an abusive boyfriend paid someone to throw acid in her face. She went through an horrendous time- but had a consultant who got her the most advanced treatment out and she flew out to other countries for treatment. She wants to make the same sort of treatment available in the UK.
May 7, 2011
Terrifying and inspirational if not a little too long winded. All in all Katie Piper has been through so much and not only survived but was transformed into a truly lovely person. Beautiful helps to remind all of us to look beyond people's outward appearances.
March 29, 2021
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
I first dived into this book really skeptical but wow Katie's survival story was super enjoyable!
KATIE PIPER is an acid attack survivor when she met an ex-boyfriend on Facebook.
I cannot imagine the pain she had to go through but Katie was so lucky to have supportive people around her. I also admire how she metamorphosed from a teenager who thought looks were everything to a philanthropist who thought love and kindness triumph all. A beautiful story overall.
It took me TEN FULL YEARS to pick up this book off my bookshelves (I found it difficult to read non-fiction in my teenage years).
I first dived into this book really skeptical but wow Katie's survival story was super enjoyable!
KATIE PIPER is an acid attack survivor when she met an ex-boyfriend on Facebook.
I cannot imagine the pain she had to go through but Katie was so lucky to have supportive people around her. I also admire how she metamorphosed from a teenager who thought looks were everything to a philanthropist who thought love and kindness triumph all. A beautiful story overall.
It took me TEN FULL YEARS to pick up this book off my bookshelves (I found it difficult to read non-fiction in my teenage years).
April 4, 2022
Wow, so so brave.
Really interesting to hear about all that happened to Katie and how she overcame such circumstances.
A book of courage.
Really interesting to hear about all that happened to Katie and how she overcame such circumstances.
A book of courage.
September 12, 2018
Unbelievably inspiring, powerful and EMOTIONAL!!
December 29, 2023
It's hard to listen to at times but completely inspiring.
July 3, 2024
Katie was a beautiful young woman with her life full of promise. She meets a man on the internet and he seems like a nice bloke. They go out for awhile and then he turns on her and brutally rapes her and she has acid thrown in her face and severely disfigures her. She then has a big battle before her.
March 7, 2021
Absolutely astounding account of the devastating life of Katie . I am humbled by her courage and determination to cope with what was the most horrific attack on a human being . The miraculous work of mr Jawad at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital was second to none . Will continue to follow her story . What a truly amazing lady .
March 4, 2017
This book was recommended to me by a friend. Although there were aspects of this story that I found frustrating, it was certainly a page turner.
February 13, 2020
I really enjoyed this book and think it was very brave of Katie share her story and recommend it.
March 3, 2013
Inspirational!
Not usually a fan of this genre of book (as I’ve stated in many other reviews here) but, in spite of this, I found this book to be quite a satisfying and very inspirational read.
All credit to Piper that she was able to reclaim her life and selfhood after becoming victim to a devastating acid attack all cruelly arranged and set up by her evil mess of a boyfriend who had raped her just hours before.
It’s when you read books like these that you realise how simply rotten some humans can be and thus Piper’s book offers a sense of triumph of the human spirit demonstrating that many people are indeed good people and good souls – fortunately she had these types of people in abundance around her in her years of recovery after the attack.
Spiritually and because it deals with difficult (to say the least!) subject matter, the book is quite a hard-going read. Piper doesn’t seem to hold back on her honesty (and nor should she!) and, as a result, taking in some of the subject matter is difficult to digest without feeling angry at perpetrators of such crime and hatred. After both of these criminals received life sentences, Piper worked hard at restoring ‘normality’ into her life and her narration ends just after the point where she established the ‘Katie Piper Foundation’ to help better quality of life and availability of restorative medical treatment to other victims.
As narrated, the tone of the book is very eloquent and Piper does give a great deal of insight into her own situation. The same eloquence, emotional intelligence and fighting spirit are popular qualities demonstrated by her during the plethora of television work she undertakes to publicise disfigurement issues and to raise public awareness about them.
In short, one cannot fail to be inspired by such a read and such messages from ‘a real person’ who knows that beauty is so much more than skin deep. One cannot help but wish Katie Piper well for being a true and utter inspiration and a real woman of absolute courage too.
Not usually a fan of this genre of book (as I’ve stated in many other reviews here) but, in spite of this, I found this book to be quite a satisfying and very inspirational read.
All credit to Piper that she was able to reclaim her life and selfhood after becoming victim to a devastating acid attack all cruelly arranged and set up by her evil mess of a boyfriend who had raped her just hours before.
It’s when you read books like these that you realise how simply rotten some humans can be and thus Piper’s book offers a sense of triumph of the human spirit demonstrating that many people are indeed good people and good souls – fortunately she had these types of people in abundance around her in her years of recovery after the attack.
Spiritually and because it deals with difficult (to say the least!) subject matter, the book is quite a hard-going read. Piper doesn’t seem to hold back on her honesty (and nor should she!) and, as a result, taking in some of the subject matter is difficult to digest without feeling angry at perpetrators of such crime and hatred. After both of these criminals received life sentences, Piper worked hard at restoring ‘normality’ into her life and her narration ends just after the point where she established the ‘Katie Piper Foundation’ to help better quality of life and availability of restorative medical treatment to other victims.
As narrated, the tone of the book is very eloquent and Piper does give a great deal of insight into her own situation. The same eloquence, emotional intelligence and fighting spirit are popular qualities demonstrated by her during the plethora of television work she undertakes to publicise disfigurement issues and to raise public awareness about them.
In short, one cannot fail to be inspired by such a read and such messages from ‘a real person’ who knows that beauty is so much more than skin deep. One cannot help but wish Katie Piper well for being a true and utter inspiration and a real woman of absolute courage too.
April 2, 2015
I have watched both of Katie's documentaries, the second of which 'Katie's Beautiful Friends' really touched me. I read this book in one sitting and I still keep thinking about it. Katie fully admits that before the attack she was into her looks and keeping herself slim. When she describes the attack and her subsequent recovery, it is quite harrowing. She had actually swallowed some of the acid when it was thrown at her and this left her with lots of problems where she found it hard to eat and she lost a lot of weight to the point she had to have a feeding tube inserted into her stomach for 8 months. She has endured many operations and has even been told that the strain of the operations on her liver and kidney's will effect her life expectancy. It never seemed that she was saying 'poor me'. Her Surgeon sounds absolutely brilliant and you can feel her love and respect for him throughout the book.
One interesting part for me was that in the documentaries, she has talked about dating again and whether anyone will find her attractive but then in the book, she does mention a boyfriend she had after the attack. I never knew this and she is honest about why she kept him out of the media and I can understand her reasons for why the relationship didn't work. He did sound like a lovely young man though...I hope that she does manage to find love in the future as she states quite often that she would like to be married with children.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. Well done Katie, you are truly beautiful, inside and out.
One interesting part for me was that in the documentaries, she has talked about dating again and whether anyone will find her attractive but then in the book, she does mention a boyfriend she had after the attack. I never knew this and she is honest about why she kept him out of the media and I can understand her reasons for why the relationship didn't work. He did sound like a lovely young man though...I hope that she does manage to find love in the future as she states quite often that she would like to be married with children.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. Well done Katie, you are truly beautiful, inside and out.
January 27, 2016
What an awe inspiring book!!
This is another book that sat on my shelf for a long time waiting to be read, again I read it as part of the reading challenge I am doing and am glad I did.
This book is really harrowing and for me put my life in perspective, I always think my life is over when the most trivial of things happens to me, but the worst thing in the world happened to Katie and she embraced it and turned her life around, I love how you see the gradual growth in Katie as she comes to terms with her attack and disfigurement, Katie is very honest within this book and you really connect with her on every page.
Katie is a very brave, strong woman and a real inspiration to all, if you are looking to be inspired and to put your life into perspective then you should really read this book, need to get my hand on the follow up now.
This is another book that sat on my shelf for a long time waiting to be read, again I read it as part of the reading challenge I am doing and am glad I did.
This book is really harrowing and for me put my life in perspective, I always think my life is over when the most trivial of things happens to me, but the worst thing in the world happened to Katie and she embraced it and turned her life around, I love how you see the gradual growth in Katie as she comes to terms with her attack and disfigurement, Katie is very honest within this book and you really connect with her on every page.
Katie is a very brave, strong woman and a real inspiration to all, if you are looking to be inspired and to put your life into perspective then you should really read this book, need to get my hand on the follow up now.
October 19, 2015
Please don't get me wrong, I am going by the BOOK alone not her nor her story. I know about her story I remember it happening, and I have seen everything she has achieved since and it is wonderful. To come out of something so horrific the way she has is amazing, and I hope she has made herself proud. This book I just could not get into it just didn't happen, I am not entirely sure why,I didn't find it very well written, the pace wasn't right and I just felt like it was a chore to read. I don't usually feel like that but I just couldn't shake the feeling for this one. I would like to point out though that her story and this book I feel are two separate things her story what happened to her I have admiration for I just didn't like this book.
May 23, 2013
I found this by chance in Bali in June last year (2012) and read it with an open heart and mind. What this beautiful girl went through was horrific to say the least yet her courage, compassion for others and her acceptance of what happened, and subsequently her struggle and determination to rebuild her life in such a positive way in order to help others like herself was quite frankly one of the most inspirational books that i have ever read. If any book makes you sit up and take a good gard look at who you are and how lucky you are right now, then this it. Prepare to shed a tear and i don't care how big or hard you may be! Brilliant read.
February 20, 2022
Another true story that is just hard to swallow.
It's very humbling, if anything and Katie Piper is an extremely focused person. She almost personifies that Aristotelian excellency in Nichomachean Ethics.
It is an interesting read to go along with Channel 4's My Beautiful Face. KP's My Beautiful Friends was also extremely inspiring and humbling as well. I sometimes complain about trivial matters while others literally have to fight for their lives... and relearn to be independent.
As for her aggressors, what on Earth happened there? I will never wrap my head around those acts. Not even the insane behave like that.
It's very humbling, if anything and Katie Piper is an extremely focused person. She almost personifies that Aristotelian excellency in Nichomachean Ethics.
It is an interesting read to go along with Channel 4's My Beautiful Face. KP's My Beautiful Friends was also extremely inspiring and humbling as well. I sometimes complain about trivial matters while others literally have to fight for their lives... and relearn to be independent.
As for her aggressors, what on Earth happened there? I will never wrap my head around those acts. Not even the insane behave like that.
February 6, 2020
It’s impossible to rate a book like this. Katie’s story is harrowing and as a person she amazes me and for so many reasons this book will stay with me for a long time. My three star rating is for the writing, not the story. It’s obvious Katie Piper isn’t a writer and it would have been beneficial for a professional writer to work with Katie on this project but I understand why she would have wanted to communicate her story in her own words.
It is a compelling book with a powerful message regardless of the poor writing and highly recommended.
It is a compelling book with a powerful message regardless of the poor writing and highly recommended.
March 1, 2012
I loved the courage this author showed in telling the story of her attack.
At first I thought she was a bit of a twit for letting her attacker bully her into telling him where she was ans what she was wearing, but it was fear that caused that and that showed later in the book.
Well done Katie, on healing, not just your face but your soul as well and for giving back to others by sharing your story and through your charity.
At first I thought she was a bit of a twit for letting her attacker bully her into telling him where she was ans what she was wearing, but it was fear that caused that and that showed later in the book.
Well done Katie, on healing, not just your face but your soul as well and for giving back to others by sharing your story and through your charity.
June 29, 2015
Holy moly, I just can't put it into words how much I love Katie Piper, she is an inspiration and such a beautiful soul, she has been through hell and back and still only thinks about helping others. What a fantastic book and was so hard to put down, I highly recommend this book :)
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