A Girl in an Empty House

by Rebecca Cohen

“They’re gone,” I hear someone say. “Your mother, they all left. Did you know?” The door opens without resistance. They didn’t even bother to lock; they never did. Doors are never locked here, not in this apartment nor any other. Who would steal anything here? There is nothing to take.

Born in a rural desert town to a family of Persian immigrants, Miriam was twelve years old the first time she had three meals in one day.

The tenth daughter of twelve siblings, she was raised so far away from anyone who might care that there was no one around to see her endure the debilitating malnourishment that first brought her close to death before she was school age. Or the violent outbursts of her physically and verbally abusive father. Or the unrelenting, wall-to-wall poverty that fueled their desperate lives.

But it all came to a startling, unimaginable point when Miriam returned home from summer camp, only to find the front door ajar. Entering the bedroom she shared with nine other children, she discovers the furniture is all gone. No food. No note. Just a girl in an empty house.

Impoverished and isolated, Miriam realizes that all she had endured up to this moment was just the beginning. If she wants to survive, she will have to choose between following her family—or following her heart. As she begins to work toward a better future, she also embarks on a journey that will help her reclaim her self-worth and identity—as a mother, as a partner, and as a woman.

Powerful, compelling, and tear-invokingly emotional, A Girl in an Empty House tells a one-of-a-kind story of perseverance and grit. Like Tara Westover and Amy Griffin before her, Miriam’s journey towards womanhood is as unforgettable as it is iconic.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 2025

Reviews

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir is filled with dark despair and only presents hope for the future at almost the end of the book. The child Miri was never wanted and thus grew up thinking she had no worth to anyone. When she was assaulted multiple times by multiple people, she cried bitterly but had no counselor or friends to whom to talk about it. When she went to camp and returned to find that he family had moved and left her behind, my heart broke for her. This was a difficult book to read but a story that needed to be told, not only as a catharsis for the author but so that others like me can be grateful for all we have and what we did not have to suffer.
I purchased a copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Mitchell Waldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very moving and highlights the strength of its main character, Miriam, who we first meet after she returns from a summer camp to find her entire family--mother, father, and twelve siblings--have deserted her, leaving her at the age of seventeen to fend for herself in an empty house, devoid of furniture and appliances except for a lonely refrigerator. She has been, since then, we find, subjected to a horrendous, monstrous abusive father who regularly gives beatings to his wife and children, sexual abuse from three of her brothers, a neglectful mother cowed by her husband who is the dominant master of all in the house and who, when Miriam was born told his wife not to bring Miriam home because she was not a boy. It is a horrendous upbringing she endures in a strict Persian Jewish family culture that believes women are to be submissive and serve the men in the family.

And even when she escapes her dysfunctional family to get a job and live on her own, she endures further beatings from her brother, two rapes, but somehow, in the end excels in her job, rising to a managerial position, and marries, has children, giving them all she never had as a child. But, still, with this, she still carries around all the hurts and insecurities of a regretful childhood.

In the end, this story is a testament to a woman's strength in overcoming all the abuses and neglect of a paternal upbringing full of hurt and insecurity to rise to the top.

[Talid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reality surpasses all imagination.

From the first page to the last I couldn't put it down just to read more to understand to internalize and to learn from the heroine of the book what strength fortitude and determination are. The paper tells and reveals in black ink open bleeding wounds that have no bandaid or cure. Heartbeats are palpable from the writing. The inferno of one girl against an entire army and against life itself. The determination not to give up and to keep moving forward with a great desire to live and conquer goals and become a prosperous career woman. It's a success story against all odds. A fighter who defeated life itself. The writing is vibrant true and courageous. I swallowed the book with a deep breath a breath that was taken from me every time I read it. A book that gives me a lot of willpower and determination. If I could I would ask for some strength like hers. I would not hesitate to read it again.

[Noel Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where is the Healing?

A disturbing book about an unimaginable childhood for sure. Sadly, the main character never really develops or seeks help for her trauma. Yes, she ends up leading a financially secure life and has a fulfilling job but there’s zero resolution to any of the issues she faced growing up. This book leaves SO many unresolved issues I was disturbed for her. The only positive female influence in her life enters the book at the very end and we learn nothing about that either.

[Aviya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really interesting and inspiring. Growing up as a child of immigrant parents is not easy and I think a lot of people can relate to that. The way it’s written feels honest and real.

I actually finished it pretty quickly because it pulled me in. What stood out to me the most is how strong she is. Even with everything she went through, she didn’t give up on herself. She managed to build a family and also keep going with her career which is not simple at all.

Overall it’s a very meaningful story and definitely worth reading.

[Taltul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that you have to read several times to believe that it is real. It turned my stomach and I couldn't put it down for a second. I couldn't believe that such a cruel world really existed, and at the same time, so much strength and mental strength. This is a book full of hope, a personal example, and one can only admire the main character who fought all her life and sought only to create a better future for herself with so much energy and never gave up for a single moment on the most obvious thing to everyone: the desire to live and reach a better world.

[Lois Nuber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pitiful story.

I have no words to describe the abuse the disrespect the horror that goes on in some so called faiths and families and they honestly believe it's okay. Pitiful is all I can say.!!

[Demi Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad but a happy ending.