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Very Bad Parents: An Absurd Slice of Psychological Fiction Offering a Glimpse into the Twisted Lives of an All-American Family
In 1964, sixteen-year-old Joan Andersen survives the crudest form of a botched abortion. What follows is a series of painful complications, leaving her traumatized and emotionally scarred. Plagued with guilt and longing for redemption, Joan convinces herself that the baby she lost is still with her, an obsession bordering on delusion.
Jack Smithfield is devastated when his girlfriend confesses to having a back-alley abortion behind his back. Tormented by the loss of a baby he never knew existed, Jack is hell-bent on vengeance. After tracking down the man who performed the procedure, he exacts his revenge and considers the matter to be settled. Jack remains loyal to Joan, and the couple are married two years after the incident. Eager to start a family, the Smithfields are blessed with a healthy baby boy.
After welcoming Jonathon Smithfield into the world, Joan suffers from postpartum depression. Her quest to find purpose in the confines of her mundane life often comes at the expense of her child. Jack vows to be the father his son needs, but struggles to suppress a darkness that has haunted him since childhood. When his dark side begins to emerge, the once loving and devoted dad is replaced with a monster whose unveiling changes his family forever. As Jonathon’s world begins to unravel, he finds solace in the form of his grandfather, an unlikely hero determined to liberate a family of its demons.
In Very Bad Parents, the reader will become immersed in the lives of a seemingly picturesque family whose complex dynamic is explored through multiple points of view over a twelve-year period.
Jack Smithfield is devastated when his girlfriend confesses to having a back-alley abortion behind his back. Tormented by the loss of a baby he never knew existed, Jack is hell-bent on vengeance. After tracking down the man who performed the procedure, he exacts his revenge and considers the matter to be settled. Jack remains loyal to Joan, and the couple are married two years after the incident. Eager to start a family, the Smithfields are blessed with a healthy baby boy.
After welcoming Jonathon Smithfield into the world, Joan suffers from postpartum depression. Her quest to find purpose in the confines of her mundane life often comes at the expense of her child. Jack vows to be the father his son needs, but struggles to suppress a darkness that has haunted him since childhood. When his dark side begins to emerge, the once loving and devoted dad is replaced with a monster whose unveiling changes his family forever. As Jonathon’s world begins to unravel, he finds solace in the form of his grandfather, an unlikely hero determined to liberate a family of its demons.
In Very Bad Parents, the reader will become immersed in the lives of a seemingly picturesque family whose complex dynamic is explored through multiple points of view over a twelve-year period.
423 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 3, 2025
In the book „Very Bad Parents: An Absurd Slice of Psychological Fiction Offering a Glimpse into the Twisted Lives of an All-American Family”, Amy Meitz orchestrates an intense spectacle of psychology, morality, and familial abyss, dismantling with precision the illusion of the “perfect American family.” The author explores generations of trauma, secrets, and unconscious repetitions that turn love into control, faith into fanaticism, and fragility into rage. With a style that oscillates between raw realism and absurd grotesque, Meitz manages to portray a world in which every tender gesture conceals an unspoken wound.
This book is not merely a story about “bad parents,” but rather a radiograph of emotional inheritance — the way guilt, shame, and fear are passed down like a domestic curse. Her characters, from teenagers trapped in dead ends to parents who confuse love with punishment, become distorted mirrors of an America obsessed with appearances and salvation. In this world, the church, the family, and the community are not sanctuaries, but fragile backdrops where absurdity becomes normality.
„Very Bad Parents” is a disturbing yet necessary literary experience — a descent into the subconscious of an American family that, beneath the mask of morality and faith, hides pain, guilt, and helplessness. Amy Meitz writes with an almost cinematic lucidity, alternating between compassion and sarcasm, between tragedy and grotesque, until the reader begins to wonder where madness ends and normality begins. It is the kind of book that offers no answers, but leaves you with questions that linger long after the final page — a brutal yet fascinating mirror of the human condition.
This book is not merely a story about “bad parents,” but rather a radiograph of emotional inheritance — the way guilt, shame, and fear are passed down like a domestic curse. Her characters, from teenagers trapped in dead ends to parents who confuse love with punishment, become distorted mirrors of an America obsessed with appearances and salvation. In this world, the church, the family, and the community are not sanctuaries, but fragile backdrops where absurdity becomes normality.
„Very Bad Parents” is a disturbing yet necessary literary experience — a descent into the subconscious of an American family that, beneath the mask of morality and faith, hides pain, guilt, and helplessness. Amy Meitz writes with an almost cinematic lucidity, alternating between compassion and sarcasm, between tragedy and grotesque, until the reader begins to wonder where madness ends and normality begins. It is the kind of book that offers no answers, but leaves you with questions that linger long after the final page — a brutal yet fascinating mirror of the human condition.
January 3, 2026
Not just a story about 'bad parents' or parenting. After reading 'Crushing little Things' I was excited to find this work in my reading list. Meitz uses a mix of unapologetic humor and haunting imagery that explores trauma and human behavior in a strait forward and reflecting way that shows the the realities of relationships scared by emotional and physical trauma.
Jack Smithfield is the guy that the good girl should absolutely stay away from. After a secret back-street abortion goes sideways, both Joan and Jack have to deal with the ramifications of her actions, causing Jack to go into an angry rage no one could have seen coming. After this, the two still decide to marry and create their own family all the same, and proving that familial dysfunction can be the downfall of us all.
The author focuses on a lot of difficult and little discussed topics, including postpartum depression, toxic masculinity and the risks of finding a partner when you are too young. Joan is thrown into a marriage that she herself says she wants, only to find that the rose-colored glasses where just a little too pink.
While the work is haunting and will absolutely linger in the souls of those who have been through similar, Meitz makes a disturbingly real look at the flawed, and often messy world of relationships that few authors would even go near. This isn't a tale of love and loss, it is a tale of dealing with loss when love is all you are searching for. The relationship between Joan and Jack is much like any from the era, and looks at the reality of the rush at love that many teens did and still do fall into.
I absolutely recommend this work for older teens who may be dealing with complex issues, as well as those who put so much stock into finding a permanent partner at such a young age. I this work had found itself to me much sooner, it would have saved me a lot of heartbreak.
I would have liked to see a trigger warning at the beginning of this work, but the shock factor from the story is well worth diving in.
Warnings I wish I had seen beforehand, but lack of warning may have been necessary : Abortion, Trauma, Medical Trauma, Postpartum Depression
Jack Smithfield is the guy that the good girl should absolutely stay away from. After a secret back-street abortion goes sideways, both Joan and Jack have to deal with the ramifications of her actions, causing Jack to go into an angry rage no one could have seen coming. After this, the two still decide to marry and create their own family all the same, and proving that familial dysfunction can be the downfall of us all.
The author focuses on a lot of difficult and little discussed topics, including postpartum depression, toxic masculinity and the risks of finding a partner when you are too young. Joan is thrown into a marriage that she herself says she wants, only to find that the rose-colored glasses where just a little too pink.
While the work is haunting and will absolutely linger in the souls of those who have been through similar, Meitz makes a disturbingly real look at the flawed, and often messy world of relationships that few authors would even go near. This isn't a tale of love and loss, it is a tale of dealing with loss when love is all you are searching for. The relationship between Joan and Jack is much like any from the era, and looks at the reality of the rush at love that many teens did and still do fall into.
I absolutely recommend this work for older teens who may be dealing with complex issues, as well as those who put so much stock into finding a permanent partner at such a young age. I this work had found itself to me much sooner, it would have saved me a lot of heartbreak.
I would have liked to see a trigger warning at the beginning of this work, but the shock factor from the story is well worth diving in.
Warnings I wish I had seen beforehand, but lack of warning may have been necessary : Abortion, Trauma, Medical Trauma, Postpartum Depression
November 8, 2025
PERFUL, UNFLINCHING, AND DEEPLY HUMAN
The title "Very Bad Parents" first caught my attention. I expected a dark comedy or biting satire, but what I found instead was something far more courageous and affecting. This novel takes an unflinching look at the hidden struggles that so many families and couples endure behind closed doors: trauma, addiction, unplanned pregnancy, guilt, and the impossible task of trying to love well when one is broken.
From the very first scene, the author draws us into Joan Andersen’s world with writing so vivid and honest, it’s sometimes hard to breathe while you're reading. The story moves from the 1960s into the 1970s, capturing the quiet desperation of suburban life with remarkable precision. The setting feels familiar to anyone over the age of 50 years, which makes the unfolding pain and resilience even more powerful. The cover art captures that perfectly: something suburban and understated, yet so ordinary it resonantes more than any cover image I have seen in a long time.
What struck me most is how real these characters feel. Joan, Jack, and their son Jonathon are flawed, complex, and heartbreakingly human. Their relationships are messy and raw, yet never caricatured. Even in its darkest moments, the novel finds space for compassion, survival, recovery, and the possibility of change.
"Very Bad Parents" is not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. The prose is elegant and fearless, the emotional truth is undeniable. It’s a work of fiction that feels painfully, beautifully real, and stays with you long after you've finished reading it. Highly recommended, but not for highly sensitive or traumatized people.
The title "Very Bad Parents" first caught my attention. I expected a dark comedy or biting satire, but what I found instead was something far more courageous and affecting. This novel takes an unflinching look at the hidden struggles that so many families and couples endure behind closed doors: trauma, addiction, unplanned pregnancy, guilt, and the impossible task of trying to love well when one is broken.
From the very first scene, the author draws us into Joan Andersen’s world with writing so vivid and honest, it’s sometimes hard to breathe while you're reading. The story moves from the 1960s into the 1970s, capturing the quiet desperation of suburban life with remarkable precision. The setting feels familiar to anyone over the age of 50 years, which makes the unfolding pain and resilience even more powerful. The cover art captures that perfectly: something suburban and understated, yet so ordinary it resonantes more than any cover image I have seen in a long time.
What struck me most is how real these characters feel. Joan, Jack, and their son Jonathon are flawed, complex, and heartbreakingly human. Their relationships are messy and raw, yet never caricatured. Even in its darkest moments, the novel finds space for compassion, survival, recovery, and the possibility of change.
"Very Bad Parents" is not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. The prose is elegant and fearless, the emotional truth is undeniable. It’s a work of fiction that feels painfully, beautifully real, and stays with you long after you've finished reading it. Highly recommended, but not for highly sensitive or traumatized people.
November 8, 2025
This was an easy read to move through — the writing is clear, sharp, and intentionally uncomplicated. You never find yourself having to reread or puzzle anything out. But what surprised me was how much it stuck with me afterward. The story opens up a window into the kind of family dynamics that most people don’t talk about out loud — the stories, patterns, and emotional echoes that get passed down without anyone acknowledging them. There were moments that felt familiar, even relatable. Alongside that, it also captures the messiness of young love, the strange and sometimes impulsive decisions we make throughout our lives when we’re figuring ourselves out, and the wild times with friends and family that end up shaping whole chapters of our lives. As someone quirky myself, what I appreciated most is how the book manages to show the complexity of people as individuals going through their lives. And then again later in the book, it explores both the complexity of a family that looks “normal” from the outside — the tension between image/truth, humor/damage, love/dysfunction, dreams/reality. It’s the kind of book that makes you reflect without forcing you to. I genuinely enjoyed it, and it lingered with me after I finished — because it says something real about the emotional inheritances we don’t always recognize we’re carrying.
November 9, 2025
I read “Crushing Little Things” by Amy Meitz earlier this year, and it quickly became one of my top gut-wrenching reads of 2025! So, when I found out there was a prequel for that book, I tripped running to Kindle as fast as I could – and I must say, my only disappointment was not reading this book earlier!
The extreme depth that were brought for the characters in the first book were multiplied in “Very Bad Parents,” taking readers on a journey through how an abusive household was formed in the small, rural town of East Elm while bring an intense look at nature v. nurture, the lasting psychological effects of an illegal abortion, small town religious views, and so much more.
Amy Meitz has once again shown such grace and care while writing about such delicate topics and pulling readers in from the very first page as we follow Jack and Joan. Reading this knowing the journey that Jonathan takes later in his life brought an eeriness, but a deeper connection with his character than I could have imagined possible thanks to Meitz and her stunning writing style. I cannot recommend this book more!! Hands down, 5/5
The extreme depth that were brought for the characters in the first book were multiplied in “Very Bad Parents,” taking readers on a journey through how an abusive household was formed in the small, rural town of East Elm while bring an intense look at nature v. nurture, the lasting psychological effects of an illegal abortion, small town religious views, and so much more.
Amy Meitz has once again shown such grace and care while writing about such delicate topics and pulling readers in from the very first page as we follow Jack and Joan. Reading this knowing the journey that Jonathan takes later in his life brought an eeriness, but a deeper connection with his character than I could have imagined possible thanks to Meitz and her stunning writing style. I cannot recommend this book more!! Hands down, 5/5
December 24, 2025
Very Bad Parents is a striking and masterfully written piece of psychological fiction that immediately pulls the reader into its dark, absurd, and emotionally charged world. The author skillfully exposes the cracks beneath the surface of a seemingly perfect family, creating a story that feels both unsettling and deeply insightful. The combination of psychological tension and satirical elements makes this book truly stand out.
November 27, 2025
Hard but should be required reading!
I have never quite read a book like this! It broke my heart! Thank God for grandparents who step up and do the right thing. I pray for the little ones who think everything is there fault. Thank you Amy Meets for an amazing book and I pray you didn't have to live through any of this.
I have never quite read a book like this! It broke my heart! Thank God for grandparents who step up and do the right thing. I pray for the little ones who think everything is there fault. Thank you Amy Meets for an amazing book and I pray you didn't have to live through any of this.
December 24, 2025
This novel offers a bold and refreshing take on family dynamics, challenging the traditional image of the all-American household. The writing is intelligent and deliberate, using absurdity to highlight the contradictions and hidden truths that often exist behind closed doors. Every chapter adds new layers to the story, keeping the reader engaged and curious.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews