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Perfectly Secret: The Hidden Lives of Seven Teen Girls
Seven essays from the heart. "When I was sixteen years old I had secrets, all right. But my secrets were not exactly my own; they were the secrets of others." So writes Nan Germaine in Perfectly Secret , Susan Musgrave's fourth collection of essays written by women writers about their teenage lives. Nan remembers the loneliness of enduring her parent's secret her mother's unhappiness and her father's infidelity. For Anita Rau Badami, a mad aunt was her hidden shame. Meanwhile, a drunken father meant Lorna Crozier could never invite her friends home. And Cathy Stonehouse, who lived her life in fragments, found her secret self threatened in a not-so-innocent game of Truth or Dare. Heartfelt, disarmingly honest, at times painful, these essays eloquently capture the reality of adolescent life. Perfectly Secret is a testament to the axiom that life isn't always as it appears.
- GenresNonfiction
112 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Susan Musgrave
78 books44 followersSusan Musgrave is a Canadian poet and children's writer. She was born in Santa Cruz, California to Canadian parents, and currently lives in British Columbia, dividing her time between Sidney and Haida Gwaii.
Musgrave was married to Stephen Reid, a writer, convicted bank robber and former member of the infamous band of thieves known as the Stopwatch Gang. Their relationship was chronicled in 1999 in the CBC series Life and Times.
She currently teaches creative writing in the University of British Columbia's Optional Residency Master of Fine Arts Program.
Recognizing a life in writing, the Writers' Trust presented Susan Musgrave with the 2014 Matt Cohen Award for her lifetime of work.
Musgrave was married to Stephen Reid, a writer, convicted bank robber and former member of the infamous band of thieves known as the Stopwatch Gang. Their relationship was chronicled in 1999 in the CBC series Life and Times.
She currently teaches creative writing in the University of British Columbia's Optional Residency Master of Fine Arts Program.
Recognizing a life in writing, the Writers' Trust presented Susan Musgrave with the 2014 Matt Cohen Award for her lifetime of work.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 29, 2017
Perfectly Secret is a non fiction book wrote by Susan Musgrave.
Seven short memoirs that reveal the inner lives of young women and the secrets they hold within.
Cathy is the main character of the story, through the course of the story she discusses her different personalities. At the beginning of the story the the speaker introduces the reader to the multi personality she has created in order for her to survive and stay well through the different types of abuse she had faced as a teen. Those seven short memoirs give the voice to the sadly common tragedies of teen lives.
In my opinion, perfectly secret is a fascinating book that shows all teenagers that they aren't the only people who have secrets yet also that they aren't the only teens that face problems. This book also teaches teens and helps them find the right person to trust. The seven mini memoirs in perfectly secret capture the reality of adolescent life and also proves that life is not always what it looks like from the outside.
However, bare in mind if you are sensitive and psychic to rape stories and sexual harassment you can skip memoir number four ( Cherry Pride) or skip the last three pages of the fourth memoir.
Still, as a whole i really recommend reading this story since it gives teens an idea about the various aspects in life. Finally, it also teaches them many different lessons in life.
Seven short memoirs that reveal the inner lives of young women and the secrets they hold within.
Cathy is the main character of the story, through the course of the story she discusses her different personalities. At the beginning of the story the the speaker introduces the reader to the multi personality she has created in order for her to survive and stay well through the different types of abuse she had faced as a teen. Those seven short memoirs give the voice to the sadly common tragedies of teen lives.
In my opinion, perfectly secret is a fascinating book that shows all teenagers that they aren't the only people who have secrets yet also that they aren't the only teens that face problems. This book also teaches teens and helps them find the right person to trust. The seven mini memoirs in perfectly secret capture the reality of adolescent life and also proves that life is not always what it looks like from the outside.
However, bare in mind if you are sensitive and psychic to rape stories and sexual harassment you can skip memoir number four ( Cherry Pride) or skip the last three pages of the fourth memoir.
Still, as a whole i really recommend reading this story since it gives teens an idea about the various aspects in life. Finally, it also teaches them many different lessons in life.
July 25, 2013
3.5/5
It's rare that I read non-fiction, and rarer still that I read non-fiction for teens. Definitely an interesting mix of stories from seven women, most of whom are writers or poets. Personally, I appreciated the style and structure of Cathy Stonehouse's contribution the best, with it's fragmentation and voice. I also thought the writers who mentioned feeling proud and later ambivalent about being one or both of their parents' confidences was interesting.
Great book for teens to read to know that they aren't the only ones with secrets, and might help them find a person and time to share them with who can be trusted.
It's rare that I read non-fiction, and rarer still that I read non-fiction for teens. Definitely an interesting mix of stories from seven women, most of whom are writers or poets. Personally, I appreciated the style and structure of Cathy Stonehouse's contribution the best, with it's fragmentation and voice. I also thought the writers who mentioned feeling proud and later ambivalent about being one or both of their parents' confidences was interesting.
Great book for teens to read to know that they aren't the only ones with secrets, and might help them find a person and time to share them with who can be trusted.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews