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Still Waters
Separated from her brother Bryan, and passed from caretaker to caretaker, Jenny discovers - as she rebels her way through high school and into adulthood - that the past can never be truly locked away forever. She survived the stunning traumas of a lost childhood, but survival may not be a way of life. Now the secrets, lies and loneliness that once imprisoned her are brought into sharp focus, where an adult Jenny can make her peace at last. But one more mystery demands her attention: the quiet troubled soul of Bryan, who, lacking the inner strength of the survivor, chooses a sad and sorrowful destiny. And Jenny must dig deep to find the one bond that held them through the years, and the one reason any of us have for enduring: love.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
35 people are currently reading
2866 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Lauck
10 books315 followersThe international bestseller of Blackbird, Still Waters, Show Me the Way, Found and The Summer of '72, author of Flight School on Substack and teacher @ The Blackbird Studio for Writers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
March 13, 2010
And now to Still Waters. This is the British edition but of course, there are American versions. Still Waters was, first and foremost, a rushed production. After the surprising and intense success of Blackbird, it was expected that I create a "satisfying" sequel NOW.
Being a hardworking, diligent sort (and a people pleaser), I went to work.
Still Waters rushed to press with typos and a even a misplaced chapter. Dreadful. And then it was released a month after 9-11. Another disaster.
I am one of millions of creative people who can tell the story of the bone crushing pressure that can kill art, creativity and even that elusive relationship with source. When the marketing machine of publishing bears down on a writer and forces the outcome--what can be made but schlock? It's like giving birth to a baby while everyone is screaming at you. Impossible.
Having said all that, by way of background, what works about Still Waters?
I think it's a solid bit of writing and investigative journalism. I am not happy with the "forced" ending of family unity and happiness as it was presented. I wasn't that happy in my marriage at that time (although I was much in denial) and in spending so much time exploring the cause of my brother's suicide, I was diverting from the bigger questions of my own journey.
I am happy with the continuation of the story, as best as it could be told and I'm relatively happy with the writing overall. It's tight enough (but could be tighter). What I'd like, in the perfect world, is to pull that book and have the memoir that I just completed titled Bye Bye Blackbird be the true sequel because it is.
NY publishing wanted my happy ending in 2001. I didn't arrive at my happy ending until 2010. So what's a writer to do? Live her life and continue on her journey or manufacture outcomes to satisfy corporate structures?
I did both.
Being a hardworking, diligent sort (and a people pleaser), I went to work.
Still Waters rushed to press with typos and a even a misplaced chapter. Dreadful. And then it was released a month after 9-11. Another disaster.
I am one of millions of creative people who can tell the story of the bone crushing pressure that can kill art, creativity and even that elusive relationship with source. When the marketing machine of publishing bears down on a writer and forces the outcome--what can be made but schlock? It's like giving birth to a baby while everyone is screaming at you. Impossible.
Having said all that, by way of background, what works about Still Waters?
I think it's a solid bit of writing and investigative journalism. I am not happy with the "forced" ending of family unity and happiness as it was presented. I wasn't that happy in my marriage at that time (although I was much in denial) and in spending so much time exploring the cause of my brother's suicide, I was diverting from the bigger questions of my own journey.
I am happy with the continuation of the story, as best as it could be told and I'm relatively happy with the writing overall. It's tight enough (but could be tighter). What I'd like, in the perfect world, is to pull that book and have the memoir that I just completed titled Bye Bye Blackbird be the true sequel because it is.
NY publishing wanted my happy ending in 2001. I didn't arrive at my happy ending until 2010. So what's a writer to do? Live her life and continue on her journey or manufacture outcomes to satisfy corporate structures?
I did both.
October 13, 2013
Interesting to read the other reviews. I actually liked Still Waters better than Blackbird. Both were very engaging and I read through them quickly. But the first book was more disturbing to me than the second. The first was so dark and tragic. Still Waters definitely had dark and tragics parts too but it also had a deeply reflective quality. Maybe because there is more satisfaction for the reader to see the author finally attain adulthood and some control over her life. I found her search for answers and truth very moving, her descriptions of this process poignant.
March 20, 2008
SO sad, I read her trio of biographical books in anticipation of meeting the author and hearing her speak on her life's awakening. This book {Blackbird} was my first by Jennifer Lauck and left me wanting more - which was immediately sated by her next book Still Waters, a less turbulent time in her life but still marred with her deep familial scars. Her last book , Show me the Way, was an ending of sorts, but I still have many questions. Jennifer's wilingness to open her soul to us amazes me; her courage is very touching.
November 25, 2007
Jennifer Lauck’s first book, Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found, was one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. So, at first, I remember being disappointed by this sequel because it just didn’t live up to the first book. But, looking back, this is a worthy and enjoyable book in its own right. But, in my opinion, it’s imperative that Blackbird is read before this book.
November 25, 2014
While this doesn't have the emotional power of her first memoir, Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found, it is still a riveting story about a truly messed-up childhood. I had to admire the author for her survival skills but something felt unfinished about her story--perhaps there was a lack of emotional distance. Although Lauck wrote this in her thirties, she seems stuck in her resentment toward the family members who she feels didn't love her enough (if at all). It's hard to tell if she's still nursing her wounds or if she is just trying to describe how she felt when she was younger. I do think that she comes to a kind of acceptance of her history in the course of this book, but she doesn't seem to have totally let her resentments go.
Then again, don't we all nurse resentment toward our parents and other adults in our lives who we feel should have known better how to treat us? There is plenty of blame to spread around among Lauck's family members. But I don't know if they're that different from scores of other families. So, in the end, it's not how perfect our families were that makes us successful or happy; it all comes down to us and what we do with what we were dealt. And Jennifer Lauck seems not only to have overcome, but to have triumphed over, the hardships of her life.
Then again, don't we all nurse resentment toward our parents and other adults in our lives who we feel should have known better how to treat us? There is plenty of blame to spread around among Lauck's family members. But I don't know if they're that different from scores of other families. So, in the end, it's not how perfect our families were that makes us successful or happy; it all comes down to us and what we do with what we were dealt. And Jennifer Lauck seems not only to have overcome, but to have triumphed over, the hardships of her life.
November 26, 2025
4.5
A powerful follow up to Blackbird that explores self acceptance and finding peace after a life filled with unimaginable suffering. Jennifer is a survivor and I am so glad we get an opportunity to witness her growth and healing.
A powerful follow up to Blackbird that explores self acceptance and finding peace after a life filled with unimaginable suffering. Jennifer is a survivor and I am so glad we get an opportunity to witness her growth and healing.
April 7, 2020
Thank you so much Jennifer Lauck, for sharing your story. It inspired me, brought me to tears and healed me.
November 14, 2024
I love reading memoirs, and this writer is very engaging. It's also intriguing to me to see how people survive childhoods worse than mine:)
January 27, 2024
This is the sequel to Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found, which I read immediately before this one. It tells the story of what happened once Jennifer was returned to her relatives and freed from the clutches of her evil stepmother, Deb.
Unfortunately her father's family is only marginally better than the evil Deb. Jennifer is constantly lied to, money from Social Security and other sources which her aunt and uncle, who adopt her, assure her is being put away for her future, disappears. Certainly some of the money is meant for maintenance, but when confronted, her guardians, now adoptive parents, flat deny they ever promised to save any of the money for her.
That is a sample of the kind of deception that went on constantly with her family. Jennifer finds out long after the fact that her aunt and uncle on her mother's side of the family wanted to keep both her and her brother, Bryan, but her father's parents wouldn't allow it. As a result, she was separated from Bryan for many years and saw him only a few times
This book, while interesting and engaging, was not quite as good as Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found. Still, it was interesting to find out "the rest of the story."
Unfortunately her father's family is only marginally better than the evil Deb. Jennifer is constantly lied to, money from Social Security and other sources which her aunt and uncle, who adopt her, assure her is being put away for her future, disappears. Certainly some of the money is meant for maintenance, but when confronted, her guardians, now adoptive parents, flat deny they ever promised to save any of the money for her.
That is a sample of the kind of deception that went on constantly with her family. Jennifer finds out long after the fact that her aunt and uncle on her mother's side of the family wanted to keep both her and her brother, Bryan, but her father's parents wouldn't allow it. As a result, she was separated from Bryan for many years and saw him only a few times
This book, while interesting and engaging, was not quite as good as Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found. Still, it was interesting to find out "the rest of the story."
November 19, 2016
Jennifer Lauck's follow-up memoir to Blackbird is equally as beautiful in its prose and heart-wrenching in its content. Orphaned and left to live with an indifferent at best, undeniably cruel at worst step-family, this is the story of Lauck's middle childhood and adolescence, where she is moved from the relatively warm and safe environment of her grandparents to an aunt and uncle who decide to adopt her, but never actually seem to love or accept her, and her tumultuous young adulthood which includes chasing career ambition while struggling with a too-young marriage, dealing with the unexpected death of her estranged brother, and eventually embarking on a path to healing and hope, as she carves out her own place in the world with writing and the creation of her own family. Lauck's story-telling is top-notch, and her ability to pull readers into her world and point of view is uncannily brilliant. The only reason I am not giving this book five stars is because it is so filled with desperation and sadness that I can't truly say "I loved it", but it is definitely an excellent read for anyone who loves a good memoir. Four stars.
January 6, 2012
I devoured this book, just like the first memoir .... powerful, poignant. Some passages that truly resonated with me:
"There are no thoughts at all, just a black hole feeling pulling me down and down, away from Kimmy and normal and this life I've barely started...There's nothing but terrible emptiness that owns me."
"My life felt like a punishment but I couldn't figure out what it was I had done or how to atone."
"I hate the survival part of me. I don't want to power my way through this life anymore but how do I stop doing something I've gotten so good at?"
"You feel a new wave of grief that's like last year's grief, only a little different. It's like how the sky looks as the sun goes down: Each moment of descent changes the texture of the colors, but so slowly, you almost can't tell."
"Through me is the old feeling of defeat that stomps down the hope beyond hope that somehow there would have been a different ending to this story."
"There are no thoughts at all, just a black hole feeling pulling me down and down, away from Kimmy and normal and this life I've barely started...There's nothing but terrible emptiness that owns me."
"My life felt like a punishment but I couldn't figure out what it was I had done or how to atone."
"I hate the survival part of me. I don't want to power my way through this life anymore but how do I stop doing something I've gotten so good at?"
"You feel a new wave of grief that's like last year's grief, only a little different. It's like how the sky looks as the sun goes down: Each moment of descent changes the texture of the colors, but so slowly, you almost can't tell."
"Through me is the old feeling of defeat that stomps down the hope beyond hope that somehow there would have been a different ending to this story."
June 4, 2016
Interesting story but I didn't enjoy it as much as her first memoir, Blackbird. I read Blackbird several years ago and listened to Ms Lauck's interview on Oprah. At the time I was so excited to learn she was writing a sequel. Enjoyed the first part of Still Waters but it went on too long, too many details, covering too many years, including her adult life to the present. There is an entire section devoted to her brother Brian, which feels like a book within a book. At the end of book she goes back and forth between the present and the past. It feels like a change in her writing style, which makes no sense. I did some research and found out Ms Lauck was pressured to write this sequel, after the success of Blackbird. She wrote 2 additional memoirs, one about her search for her birth mother. That's probably 2 too many for me to desire to read. How can anyone write 4 memoirs? Who knows, maybe they will match up to the quality of Blackbird.
February 22, 2014
This is the sequel to Blackbird, the memoir of Jennifer Kauck. It starts her being dropped off the bus on her way to her Grandparents, after Deb (stepmother) sends her away. It follows her teen years as she finds out many of the mysteries of her life(about her parents death, her brother's suicide, how her fav aunt and uncle wanted to adopt her, but Deb would not allow it etc). It tells about her growing up with another aunt and uncle and being moved from one family to another; her difficluty with relationships with boys and trouble with schools. She ends up going to college, moving out on her own and getting married 2times and getting therapy to deal with her past difficult life. Today she is happily married with a son.
Overal interesting book, but the first one was more interesting
Overal interesting book, but the first one was more interesting
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2014
Lauck's very sad memoir, Blackbird, ended with what I thought was hope for a better future, so I decided to read the sequel, Still Waters. Well I was mistaken. Throughout the whole book she is struggling with her past and trying to find answers. Towards the end she seems to have adjusted and have a "normal" life. Although a depressing read, I admire her courage, resilience and her positive attitude. I give it 3.5 stars.
August 6, 2007
I did read this book, although it had a different cover design when i read it. Anyways, it was a great book. I felt sorry for the girl and all the crap she had to go through in her life, like her aunt and uncle treating her like a slave. That was so wrong.
September 19, 2013
I seldom if ever read memoirs but something about the story of Jennifer Lauck's life really touches me. The first, Blackbird, was a book which stayed with me long after I'd read it. I always meant to read book 2 and finally did so. In no way was I disappointed. A definite recommendation!
June 23, 2023
This is a memoir of a troubled childhood. A lot of it is about survival and moving on. Tragic stuff but it's pretty good.
Read
January 31, 2014Emotionally wrecking, yet masterfully prosed!
December 12, 2018
This was another riveting read and a continuation of the haunting childhood memoir of Jennifer Lauck. It is a disturbing, emotional, and heart wrenching picture of loneliness and abuse that she suffered under a succession of people who didn't really love or care for her properly after her parents died. The author admits that she only gave this book two stars because she felt she rushed the writing of it because of her publisher's demands. Nine years later she wrote another; and, in her words, a better sequel. I thought this sequel was a gripping page turner!
This book literally picks up where Blackbird leaves off. Jennifer's "evil" stepmother has sent her away to live with her paternal grandparents. She is standing at a bus terminal in Reno, Nevada waiting for her grandfather to pick her up. She waits with her pink trunk stuffed with all her favorite memorabilia and possessions. Her grandparents live a routine and predictable life where she feels safe and secure. In trying to do what they think is best for her, they send her to live with her Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dick (from her father's side of the family) in Black Sparks, Nevada. She is devastated. It doesn't take long to figure out that she is living with them because they need her social security checks, slave-type labor, and babysitting duties. There is no love expressed in this equation, and she is told that if she is found looking or "mooning" over her parents wedding photos, her mother's pearls or ring or any treasures in the pink trunk, they will be thrown away. Later her aunt and uncle adopt her and she becomes Jenny Duemore, they force her to call them mom and dad, and they promise to set aside money from the social security checks to pay for her future education.
Jennifer's high school years are predictably very restrictive, her "parents" up and move to St. Helens, Washington in 1978 and Spokane in 1980. In both places more trauma awaits her. She has a succession of boyfriends, dreams of leaving home for college, discovers her "parents" didn't save any money for her education, finally gets to go to college, her 1st marriage doesn't work out, and much more. Her brother Bryan had also been passed from caretaker to caretaker. Bryan got to choose who he wanted to live with and his choice is a tragic mistake. His path to adulthood somewhat parallels Jennifer's, but Bryan can't emotionally handle all the inner demons caused from happened to him and sinks into pain and depression with deadly results.
The second half of the book is Jennifer's reflective journey using her skills as an investigative journalist to search for answers on what caused her brother's death. The book details several trips she takes in her quest to find answers to long sought out questions that have plagued her. She also finds out what happened to her real mother and father and also learns that Aunt Georgia and Uncle Charles (from her mother's side of the family) had wanted to adopt and love her but were refused by her "evil" stepmother. Her life might have been so different. Her support base during her search is her 2nd husband Steve and her son Spencer whom she loves unconditionally in the way that she never was.
A quote from the author - "We are the product of our experiences; everything we believe and know comes from them. Unless we are truly enlightened, we can't have real "freedom". I see my journey is to keep looking at my life and digging for layers of understanding," Hopefully she has found the peace she was desperately seeking and is living a "normal" life. A compelling and page-turning read. Highly recommended. Be sure and read Blackbird first because this book will make more sense and have more meaning.
This book literally picks up where Blackbird leaves off. Jennifer's "evil" stepmother has sent her away to live with her paternal grandparents. She is standing at a bus terminal in Reno, Nevada waiting for her grandfather to pick her up. She waits with her pink trunk stuffed with all her favorite memorabilia and possessions. Her grandparents live a routine and predictable life where she feels safe and secure. In trying to do what they think is best for her, they send her to live with her Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dick (from her father's side of the family) in Black Sparks, Nevada. She is devastated. It doesn't take long to figure out that she is living with them because they need her social security checks, slave-type labor, and babysitting duties. There is no love expressed in this equation, and she is told that if she is found looking or "mooning" over her parents wedding photos, her mother's pearls or ring or any treasures in the pink trunk, they will be thrown away. Later her aunt and uncle adopt her and she becomes Jenny Duemore, they force her to call them mom and dad, and they promise to set aside money from the social security checks to pay for her future education.
Jennifer's high school years are predictably very restrictive, her "parents" up and move to St. Helens, Washington in 1978 and Spokane in 1980. In both places more trauma awaits her. She has a succession of boyfriends, dreams of leaving home for college, discovers her "parents" didn't save any money for her education, finally gets to go to college, her 1st marriage doesn't work out, and much more. Her brother Bryan had also been passed from caretaker to caretaker. Bryan got to choose who he wanted to live with and his choice is a tragic mistake. His path to adulthood somewhat parallels Jennifer's, but Bryan can't emotionally handle all the inner demons caused from happened to him and sinks into pain and depression with deadly results.
The second half of the book is Jennifer's reflective journey using her skills as an investigative journalist to search for answers on what caused her brother's death. The book details several trips she takes in her quest to find answers to long sought out questions that have plagued her. She also finds out what happened to her real mother and father and also learns that Aunt Georgia and Uncle Charles (from her mother's side of the family) had wanted to adopt and love her but were refused by her "evil" stepmother. Her life might have been so different. Her support base during her search is her 2nd husband Steve and her son Spencer whom she loves unconditionally in the way that she never was.
A quote from the author - "We are the product of our experiences; everything we believe and know comes from them. Unless we are truly enlightened, we can't have real "freedom". I see my journey is to keep looking at my life and digging for layers of understanding," Hopefully she has found the peace she was desperately seeking and is living a "normal" life. A compelling and page-turning read. Highly recommended. Be sure and read Blackbird first because this book will make more sense and have more meaning.
May 9, 2017
Accidentally lucking into a copy of Blackbird, Jennifer Lauck's first story about her devastating childhood... AND the most powerful book of all time for me, I could absolutely NOT wait to read this one. Still Waters is the second part of her life. It's not nearly as powerful and I didn't expect it to be. I'd already read the author's own review of this book and I didn't get the impression she was very happy with the way her publishers rushed her to turn out another story. I was able to see where she struggled with doing this. Probably half of the book reads like a journal. I got the impressions she struggled to add color to the story. I also was able to deduce that honesty is so important to her and in order to add color, she may have had to be dishonest? I don't think Jennifer was able to be dishonest and so much of the color and feeling was not there. As a fellow "survivor", I'm so proud of her for sticking to her morals and being as honest as she could. Besides all that, for many of us who know too much about traumatic childhoods, we can testify that part of our lives were a whole lot uglier than other years. During the Blackbird years, it made for a more interesting read. Still Water years, for me, was possibly the worst though. The pain and rejection she must have felt being adopted (for a second time) by her aunt and uncle who really only wanted her to preform servant and babysitting duties... oh and there's the money they helped themselves to! Being rejected by her grandparents who COULD have raised her and a teenage Jennifer might have had a "normal" or even GOOD life! I still don't understand why they seemed to love her yet didn't want to even try to give this child a home? But I have so many questions! I think Jennifer had more.
The story really came together at the end when the author took several journeys to piece together her brother's death. It was cathardic for me to read! I sincerely wish that this damaged but superhuman girl is still living in a world of peace.
If you liked Blackbird, you have to read this one too. So much makes sense toward the end of the book. Puzzle pieces start coming together. Don't expect for Still Waters to move you the way Blackbird did... although it still moved me! I can say it actually helped me on my journey to understand my own past and my own dark days. I'm looking forward to reading the third book, Found, somewhere in the near future.
The story really came together at the end when the author took several journeys to piece together her brother's death. It was cathardic for me to read! I sincerely wish that this damaged but superhuman girl is still living in a world of peace.
If you liked Blackbird, you have to read this one too. So much makes sense toward the end of the book. Puzzle pieces start coming together. Don't expect for Still Waters to move you the way Blackbird did... although it still moved me! I can say it actually helped me on my journey to understand my own past and my own dark days. I'm looking forward to reading the third book, Found, somewhere in the near future.
May 20, 2021
This was the continuation of Blackbird, the story of the author, Jennifer Lauck's, childhood.
Jennifer is currently living with her grandparents, but they send her to live with her Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dick. Jennifer is upset, since she likes living with her grandparents, but soon gets used to the idea. It seems like it's another situation of her aunt and uncle getting money from the government for taking care of her. They are a younger couple with a small daughter. Jennifer is given many chores to do, but she seems to have freedom and gets along with Aunt Peggy, who knew her mom, for the most part. After being sent away to live with a cousin Sharon, and an incident with Sharon's boyfriend Gary, Jennifer goes back with Peggy and Dick and is adopted by them.
Jennifer is growing up, and has her boyfriends, heart breaks, and disappointments. Even though Jennifer thought Peggy and Dick were putting money aside for her college education they weren't. So Jennifer attends a community college where she studies Journalism, meets Lance, and gets married.
Bryan, Jennifer's brother, commits suicide and the last part of the book has Jennifer going to where her brother was in the last years of his life: Uncle Leonard's place, the seminary, dropping out of the seminary, and then to a college where he took his roommate's gun. Jennifer gets some closure, is remarried, and has a son.
Jennifer is currently living with her grandparents, but they send her to live with her Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dick. Jennifer is upset, since she likes living with her grandparents, but soon gets used to the idea. It seems like it's another situation of her aunt and uncle getting money from the government for taking care of her. They are a younger couple with a small daughter. Jennifer is given many chores to do, but she seems to have freedom and gets along with Aunt Peggy, who knew her mom, for the most part. After being sent away to live with a cousin Sharon, and an incident with Sharon's boyfriend Gary, Jennifer goes back with Peggy and Dick and is adopted by them.
Jennifer is growing up, and has her boyfriends, heart breaks, and disappointments. Even though Jennifer thought Peggy and Dick were putting money aside for her college education they weren't. So Jennifer attends a community college where she studies Journalism, meets Lance, and gets married.
Bryan, Jennifer's brother, commits suicide and the last part of the book has Jennifer going to where her brother was in the last years of his life: Uncle Leonard's place, the seminary, dropping out of the seminary, and then to a college where he took his roommate's gun. Jennifer gets some closure, is remarried, and has a son.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2020
What did I think?...I think this book was absolutely wonderful!! It handed to me all the emotional feels with open palms. When this book came to be in my possession, (I don't even know how actually, I think I bought it at a library sale) I didn't realize that it was a sequel. Halfway through I bounced onto Amazon and purchased her first best-seller
and her other book
(which I think may just be a different version of Still Waters..but I'll find out when I read it next).
I know there is a lot sadness in the world that I haven't fully experienced and when you are living your own life and are so swept up in your own world, you don't really know all the different sadness. Jennifer Lauck describes it to me in beautiful detail. I am currently reading Blackbird and it is just as captivating or maybe I should say Still Waters is just as captivating as her first...
and her other book
(which I think may just be a different version of Still Waters..but I'll find out when I read it next).I know there is a lot sadness in the world that I haven't fully experienced and when you are living your own life and are so swept up in your own world, you don't really know all the different sadness. Jennifer Lauck describes it to me in beautiful detail. I am currently reading Blackbird and it is just as captivating or maybe I should say Still Waters is just as captivating as her first...
October 31, 2021
This was Jennifer Lauck’s sequel to “Blackbird” which I found fascinating to say the least. Lauck is a writer whose style I really enjoy. Blackbird focuses on her childhood and the loss of her mother/father at the age of 7 and 9 respectively and the subsequent upheavals in her life as a result of those deaths. This book explores her relationship with her brother, Bryan, the biological son of her adopted parents, Bud and Janet, commits suicide at the age of 23. Her relationship with her brother is not the greatest and they are never really close. He was a melancholy child who didn’t have much to say and preferred being alone. She was inquisitive and spoke her mind. They clashed and then were separated during their teens years when he was sent to live with his mother’s relatives and she was sent to live with her father’s relatives. Lauck uses her investigative skills to try and uncover the reason for her brother’s death as there were so many unanswered questions surrounding it. I found this book kept me wanting to read more because I, too, wanted to find out what led Bryan to want to end his life. I am looking forward to reading her next book, “Found”.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2022
This book and its predecessor Blackbird have to be one of the most powerful antidotes to self pity I know. Jennifer Laucks childhood was a torment. You will be stunned at what this child survived. Most of the abuse was not physical, but mental. With her second adopted family, she is subjected to labor in the house every waking moment. The parents make money off of her by waying she needs to pay them for mistakes she has made. She her babysitting money and later her money working as a waitress or secretary go to them. She buys a car and her dad trades it in for lesser and lesser valued cars, pocketing the difference, saying each time it is an improvement. The only reason i did not give 5 stars is because of small inaccuracies that the editor didn't catch. Like a police officer saying he likes the fruit of Bradford pear trees and they do not make edible fruit!
If you have a complicated family life, read this and you will normal and blessed!
If you have a complicated family life, read this and you will normal and blessed!
February 9, 2020
Jennifer Lauck is an incredibly gifted writer. She is brave enough to allow disarming thoughts to come to consciousness, writes about it, and as she heals, her words heal her readers.
This is one of my favorite lines in Still Waters, "When you talk about the thing no one talks about, everything changes. Aunt Peggy and and me are different now, like sisters, and in this new place, I tell her everything there is to tell, one
story flowing into the other." Because to me, this is the true meaning of intimacy; something I believe humans are craving, especially right now.
Gloria Squitiro: Author of May Cause Drowsiness and Blurred Vision: The Side Effects of Bravery. You, too, can overcome anxiety and live a bigger, more carefree life. Find your strength and become a New and Better You.
This is one of my favorite lines in Still Waters, "When you talk about the thing no one talks about, everything changes. Aunt Peggy and and me are different now, like sisters, and in this new place, I tell her everything there is to tell, one
story flowing into the other." Because to me, this is the true meaning of intimacy; something I believe humans are craving, especially right now.
Gloria Squitiro: Author of May Cause Drowsiness and Blurred Vision: The Side Effects of Bravery. You, too, can overcome anxiety and live a bigger, more carefree life. Find your strength and become a New and Better You.
July 10, 2021
Good book. Sequal to Blackbird, memoir. Continues her life journey as a 12-year-old, hoping things will be better for her as she leaves her abusive childhood behind. She continues to endure as a survivor as she passes from caretaker to caretaker, separated from her brother. When he chooses a shocking, tragic destiny, she must confront the secrets, lies, and loneliness that have held her prisoner for years. Embarking on a search for answers, the adult Jenny discovers that the past cannot be locked away forever. Now, in the warmth and understanding of her marriage, in the eyes of her child she finds her own miracles. Her life, once merely a matter of survival, becomes rich with the joys of truly living.
February 11, 2024
I’m just confounded as to why Jennifer Lauck would give this book a poor review. I was drawn in so quickly and unable to put it down. If a book can hold my attention so deeply, for me that is extremely powerful. I feel it was really well written, and I was emotional most of the time. Sometimes I compared it to other books that I read, like The Glass Castle, which also had a profound effect on me.
I did not have a similar childhood to Ms. Lauck, I do have demons that I struggle with daily, even leading into my seventh decade on the planet.
It is to read someone else’s struggles, turn into some essence of peace in their life, like I have in mine.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how the aspects of our life make us who we are.
I did not have a similar childhood to Ms. Lauck, I do have demons that I struggle with daily, even leading into my seventh decade on the planet.
It is to read someone else’s struggles, turn into some essence of peace in their life, like I have in mine.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand how the aspects of our life make us who we are.
January 31, 2025
I enjoyed this book quite thoroughly - it was well written and very entertaining. It started out very strong for me and I was devouring the story and eager to read on. It did change over half way and became a bit sluggish - seemed to be haggling over the same story line and then suddenly it picked up again and the ending was quite delightful and compelling. I loved the perplexing bond of the family members and how Jennifer grew emotionally through all her family conflicts. Through the whole book I wanted so much for her to find security with herself and happiness. That was the part that frustrated me in the section of the book where I lost some interest. Lots of thought processing in this story !
November 12, 2020
I was interested in this book because it was a memoir about a hard childhood/young adult life and a tragic loss. This book started off really slow for me. However, I am glad I stuck with it. It never really picked up but when Jennifer starts working on healing herself and exploring why she is the way she is it really resonated with me. I would recommend it based on that, not that it is action packed or that it moves along at a fast pace. After reading this book I did find out the author has another book, Blackbird, that is also a memoir and it seems she spends more time on her childhood in that one. Maybe reading Blackbird first would help before reading Still Waters.
March 24, 2023
My Original Thoughts (2001):
Just as with Blackbird, I quickly became engrossed in Jennifer Lauck's continuation of her memoir. Extremely readable. Not quite as emotional as Blackbird. Could it be that the disappointments and cruel realities of a young girl (eight or nine years of age), might be less difficult for a teenager? Or maybe life got a little easier once she became a teenager. I couldn't put the book down. I'd like to read a novel by Lauck someday, but so far she's only written nonfiction.
My Current Thoughts:
I have a strong memory of reading this book, but it's not one I'd read again, in spite of the high rating.
Just as with Blackbird, I quickly became engrossed in Jennifer Lauck's continuation of her memoir. Extremely readable. Not quite as emotional as Blackbird. Could it be that the disappointments and cruel realities of a young girl (eight or nine years of age), might be less difficult for a teenager? Or maybe life got a little easier once she became a teenager. I couldn't put the book down. I'd like to read a novel by Lauck someday, but so far she's only written nonfiction.
My Current Thoughts:
I have a strong memory of reading this book, but it's not one I'd read again, in spite of the high rating.
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