What do you think?
Rate this book
All the Pretty Things: The Story of a Southern Girl Who Went through Fire to Find Her Way Home
"I don't know how old I was the night the trailer burned down, or if the rumor was true that Daddy was the one who set it on fire."
For a long time, Edie thought she had escaped. It started in an Appalachian trailer park, where a young girl dreamed of becoming a doctor. But every day, Edie woke up to her poverty-stricken world full of alcohol and violence, where getting out seemed impossible. She taught herself to drive a stick shift truck at twelve years oldso she could get her drunk daddy home from the bar. She spent Saturdays at Brushy Mountain prison visiting her incarcerated cousin. She watched adults eat while her stomach gnawed and then there was torching of the family trailer, where she dug through the ashes to try to salvage her most prized possession--her Tammy Wynette album.
And at the center of it all was her charismatic daddy. She never knew when he would show up but when he did he was usually drunk; she learned the hard way that she couldn't count on him to protect her. So she told herself it didn't matter. All she wanted was to make him proud. Against all odds, Edie "made doctor," achieving everything that had once seemed beyond her reach. Only, it was too late, because her Daddy died a year before she graduated medical school. She split the cost of his funeral with her sister.
When her past finally caught up with her, it was all too much so she did what her Daddy would have done--she set it all on fire.
It would take her whole life burning down once again for Edie to be finally able to face the truth about herself, her family, and her relationship with God. Readers of The Glass Castle will treasure this refreshing and raw redemption story, a memoir for anyone who has ever hungered for home, forgiveness, and the safe embrace of a father's love.
For a long time, Edie thought she had escaped. It started in an Appalachian trailer park, where a young girl dreamed of becoming a doctor. But every day, Edie woke up to her poverty-stricken world full of alcohol and violence, where getting out seemed impossible. She taught herself to drive a stick shift truck at twelve years oldso she could get her drunk daddy home from the bar. She spent Saturdays at Brushy Mountain prison visiting her incarcerated cousin. She watched adults eat while her stomach gnawed and then there was torching of the family trailer, where she dug through the ashes to try to salvage her most prized possession--her Tammy Wynette album.
And at the center of it all was her charismatic daddy. She never knew when he would show up but when he did he was usually drunk; she learned the hard way that she couldn't count on him to protect her. So she told herself it didn't matter. All she wanted was to make him proud. Against all odds, Edie "made doctor," achieving everything that had once seemed beyond her reach. Only, it was too late, because her Daddy died a year before she graduated medical school. She split the cost of his funeral with her sister.
When her past finally caught up with her, it was all too much so she did what her Daddy would have done--she set it all on fire.
It would take her whole life burning down once again for Edie to be finally able to face the truth about herself, her family, and her relationship with God. Readers of The Glass Castle will treasure this refreshing and raw redemption story, a memoir for anyone who has ever hungered for home, forgiveness, and the safe embrace of a father's love.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
141 people are currently reading
2426 people want to read
About the author
Edie Wadsworth
4 books41 followersEdie Wadsworth is a speaker, writer, and blogger who has been featured in various print and online media (including Better Homes and Gardens in 2013 on the topic of her family's home rebuild after a fire). After overcoming her difficult upbringing to become a successful medical doctor, Edie left her practice to raise her family and pursue her love for writing. Her passion is to love her people well and to see women embrace the full measure of their life's passion and purpose. She has shared her story at conferences and churches around the country. Edie is a Compassion International blogger who traveled to Nicaragua in 2013. She blogs at lifeingraceblog.com on a variety of topics that center themselves on home--including vocation, hospitality, faith, parenting, cooking, and life in the Appalachian South.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
December 17, 2016
If you’re prone to cry, every page of this book will be warped with salty tears. It is not a flowery lullaby. It is not a happily ever after, make-me-feel-warm-inside memoir, as the sweet title and cover suggest. It is a bitter, raw, heartbreaking homecoming of a woman and her journey - a journey to find the fulfillment she desired from her earthly father in the love of her heavenly father. And every step along the way is filled with pain, unimaginable hardship, and trials inexplicably laced with agony.
(btw, what do y'all think of this image thing? I'm going to start doing it for most of my reviews, but I think right now it looks kinda ugly and unprofessional. You can read it better on my blog, the dimentions are messed up on GR. Whadaya say?)
What can I say? Edie’s story is miraculous and inconceivable. It blew me away. I can’t describe my feelings. I’m torn between shoving the book in your face until you agree to read it or stuffing it in a dark corner because it’s so heartbreaking and I want to spare you from the pain of reading it.
I was partially raised in the Smokey Mountains. It was my second home. My family has chalets (cottages nestled in the mountainside) in Gatlinburg, and I spent copious amounts of time living there. Two of them, one being our second home, burned down to the ground in the recent Gatlinburg Fire. After the flood in Baton Rouge which nearly devastated my home in combination with the Gatlinburg disaster, I can sympathize on a small level with the anguish of Mrs. Wadsworth’s loss, as well as her Appalachian upbringing. It brought me home.
Ultimately, this book inspired me. It inspired me to look at my life and reflect. To see how blessed I am to grow up in a comfortable home, a happy family, and to have been raised with Christ at the center of everything. It’s a heavy burden filled with uncomfortable baggage, to read this book. But once you do, you’ll be blown away by the wind with how light your struggles seem.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
I admire Edie’s fearlessness in writing this book (it took her three years of wrestling to bring it to life) there were just a few things I wish were handled differently.
----Gaps
Firstly, gaps in the storyline. It felt as if there were areas she skipped over completely. There was a disclaimer in the book that said something to the effect “I’m leaving out memories that are still tender, I hope you can understand.” – but
----Foreshadowing
I’m fully aware that a hint of foreshadowing can make a book an edge-of-your-seat thriller. But it is my personal preference that the end of every chapter should not be foreshadowing doom that will come 200 pages later. Her story is vibrant enough to where I didn’t feel it was necessary. All the same, it didn’t detract too much from the book. It’s just a personal preference.
----Ending
I didn’t want it to end! That’s not a critique, of course. I doubt I would ever want the book to end, and I can’t contain myself while waiting for Edie’s next novel Coming Home. My critique is that I wish I could have seen into what Edie’s life is like now - after the fire, after the turmoil, with her children growing up, running her now-flourishing blog. How normal is her life after her past and everything she’s been through? I feel that I know the young Edie, but I want to know the new Edie. What are her struggles, regrets? What battles does she still face? Maybe she’ll write another book on it. We can hope, can’t we?
I can’t in good conscience “recommend” this book, per say. It’s not for everyone. This is struggle piled atop struggle. You will drown in sorrow for this woman who your heart and soul go out to. But at the same time, I, after all of it, want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Edie, more than anything. I want to hear it from her own mouth, person to person. I want to know the things she left out. I want to know her. After a memoir so heartbreaking and riddled with sins that seem unforgivable, if you can still come out loving the writer, that is when you know they have done a good job. A stellar job. That is when you know it is a memoir that will stay with you for ages to come.
If you do decide to read this book, I would suggest you read it in bite-sized chunks. I’ve come to learn that if you are going to read a “depressing” book, spread it out. Read a chapter here, a chapter there. It’s more bearable, and you don’t become hopeless and saddened. It helps you stay in the real world and keep your mind focused.
Let me know if you decide to read it! I'd love to hear from you!
See the full review on my blog, Literary Cafe: http://literarycafe.weebly.com/review...
(btw, what do y'all think of this image thing? I'm going to start doing it for most of my reviews, but I think right now it looks kinda ugly and unprofessional. You can read it better on my blog, the dimentions are messed up on GR. Whadaya say?)
What can I say? Edie’s story is miraculous and inconceivable. It blew me away. I can’t describe my feelings. I’m torn between shoving the book in your face until you agree to read it or stuffing it in a dark corner because it’s so heartbreaking and I want to spare you from the pain of reading it.
I was partially raised in the Smokey Mountains. It was my second home. My family has chalets (cottages nestled in the mountainside) in Gatlinburg, and I spent copious amounts of time living there. Two of them, one being our second home, burned down to the ground in the recent Gatlinburg Fire. After the flood in Baton Rouge which nearly devastated my home in combination with the Gatlinburg disaster, I can sympathize on a small level with the anguish of Mrs. Wadsworth’s loss, as well as her Appalachian upbringing. It brought me home.
Ultimately, this book inspired me. It inspired me to look at my life and reflect. To see how blessed I am to grow up in a comfortable home, a happy family, and to have been raised with Christ at the center of everything. It’s a heavy burden filled with uncomfortable baggage, to read this book. But once you do, you’ll be blown away by the wind with how light your struggles seem.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
I admire Edie’s fearlessness in writing this book (it took her three years of wrestling to bring it to life) there were just a few things I wish were handled differently.
----Gaps
Firstly, gaps in the storyline. It felt as if there were areas she skipped over completely. There was a disclaimer in the book that said something to the effect “I’m leaving out memories that are still tender, I hope you can understand.” – but
----Foreshadowing
I’m fully aware that a hint of foreshadowing can make a book an edge-of-your-seat thriller. But it is my personal preference that the end of every chapter should not be foreshadowing doom that will come 200 pages later. Her story is vibrant enough to where I didn’t feel it was necessary. All the same, it didn’t detract too much from the book. It’s just a personal preference.
----Ending
I didn’t want it to end! That’s not a critique, of course. I doubt I would ever want the book to end, and I can’t contain myself while waiting for Edie’s next novel Coming Home. My critique is that I wish I could have seen into what Edie’s life is like now - after the fire, after the turmoil, with her children growing up, running her now-flourishing blog. How normal is her life after her past and everything she’s been through? I feel that I know the young Edie, but I want to know the new Edie. What are her struggles, regrets? What battles does she still face? Maybe she’ll write another book on it. We can hope, can’t we?
I can’t in good conscience “recommend” this book, per say. It’s not for everyone. This is struggle piled atop struggle. You will drown in sorrow for this woman who your heart and soul go out to. But at the same time, I, after all of it, want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Edie, more than anything. I want to hear it from her own mouth, person to person. I want to know the things she left out. I want to know her. After a memoir so heartbreaking and riddled with sins that seem unforgivable, if you can still come out loving the writer, that is when you know they have done a good job. A stellar job. That is when you know it is a memoir that will stay with you for ages to come.
If you do decide to read this book, I would suggest you read it in bite-sized chunks. I’ve come to learn that if you are going to read a “depressing” book, spread it out. Read a chapter here, a chapter there. It’s more bearable, and you don’t become hopeless and saddened. It helps you stay in the real world and keep your mind focused.
Let me know if you decide to read it! I'd love to hear from you!
See the full review on my blog, Literary Cafe: http://literarycafe.weebly.com/review...
November 1, 2016
Curiosity compelled me to read this memoir of a Southern girl whose dysfunctional relationship with her daddy cast a shadow over her entire life until God’s grace caught up with her, healing, empowering, and transforming her into someone wholly different. I wanted to read it because the author’s situation, superficially at least, reminded me of someone I know. A woman who, despite my many years of knowing her, remains an enigma. In reading Edie’s story, I sought insights into this woman’s life, and therefore into my relationship with her.
Few will be able to relate to the specifics of Edie’s story (which, for your average American woman, are pretty much off the charts), but every willing reader will find resonance in her themes. These are universal: the longing to be known and loved. To belong. And the angst that results when a parent loves you well but cannot meet your deepest emotional needs because of his or her own brokenness.
I teared up when I read Edie’s account of the first, nerve-wracking time she shared her story with an audience — touched in part because of her story, but even more so because of the truth she discovered:
“that the painful parts of our lives are often the very things that God will use as gifts to bless and change us and the people we meet.” (page 134)
Edie then goes on to describe in some detail the long road of hard forgiveness on her way to healing. She says,
“I learned to hold my compassion for Daddy and my wounds from him in the same heart.” (page 244)
There’s also this, as she quotes the doctor who helped her climb out of the pit:
“Most people are just doing the best they can with what they’ve been given. You never know what someone’s struggles are.” (page 246)
Edie’s articulation of these relational truths showed me the way to feel greater compassion toward toward not only one particular person in my life, but many. I am grateful.
I can only begin to guess the cost of penning a memoir like Edie’s — deeply personal, deeply vulnerable. I’ve talked to other memoirists who have said it took them years before they could write meaningfully about pain in their lives because they needed a certain degree of emotional distance that only time could provide. That distance seems here to be quite slender, and as a result, Edie’s story quite raw. Which is where, I believe, it draws so much of its power.
Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for providing me a free copy. All opinions are mine.
Few will be able to relate to the specifics of Edie’s story (which, for your average American woman, are pretty much off the charts), but every willing reader will find resonance in her themes. These are universal: the longing to be known and loved. To belong. And the angst that results when a parent loves you well but cannot meet your deepest emotional needs because of his or her own brokenness.
I teared up when I read Edie’s account of the first, nerve-wracking time she shared her story with an audience — touched in part because of her story, but even more so because of the truth she discovered:
“that the painful parts of our lives are often the very things that God will use as gifts to bless and change us and the people we meet.” (page 134)
Edie then goes on to describe in some detail the long road of hard forgiveness on her way to healing. She says,
“I learned to hold my compassion for Daddy and my wounds from him in the same heart.” (page 244)
There’s also this, as she quotes the doctor who helped her climb out of the pit:
“Most people are just doing the best they can with what they’ve been given. You never know what someone’s struggles are.” (page 246)
Edie’s articulation of these relational truths showed me the way to feel greater compassion toward toward not only one particular person in my life, but many. I am grateful.
I can only begin to guess the cost of penning a memoir like Edie’s — deeply personal, deeply vulnerable. I’ve talked to other memoirists who have said it took them years before they could write meaningfully about pain in their lives because they needed a certain degree of emotional distance that only time could provide. That distance seems here to be quite slender, and as a result, Edie’s story quite raw. Which is where, I believe, it draws so much of its power.
Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for providing me a free copy. All opinions are mine.
January 2, 2017
This book is nothing like The Glass Castle. I am not that picky, but I think comparing it to TGC set me up for disappointment. I also didn't love the writing. She tried to end every chapter on a cliff hanger and you were left hanging for many many chapters and some cliff hangers we never resolved. I liked her redemption story and she had some nuggets of wisdom, but I wish I got it from the library instead of purchasing it.
February 6, 2017
Oh my heart. I loved everything about this book. Thank you so much to my cousin, Lindsay, who told me to read it and lent me her copy. I'm a blubbering mess of tears right now because I'm so moved by what I just read. I'll try to write a better review after I compose myself but for now I can say that I highly recommend this memoir, especially to those of you that loved The Glass Castle. However, this is not an easy read and this book will not be for everyone. It is such a bittersweet yet beautiful story that had me crying one minute and laughing the next. It was so heartbreaking in parts but it left me feeling so inspired. This book touched me deep in my soul, and I'll never forget it. I don't want to let it go just yet. I truly fell in love with this cast of characters. This story really resonates with me (and my cousin) because our family members had a similar upbringing. At times I felt like I was sitting in a room with my mom and my aunts, listening to their stories...it was like deja-vu...it felt like home in a way. Now I'm crying again. Ok I'll stop rambling and crying. Eventually the tears will stop rolling down my face, I hope. What a book!!! 5 stars and I'll definitely be rereading this one!
January 13, 2020
The only reason I give this book 2 stars is because I kept reading it. I have no idea how this book made it to publication. The writing was all over the map, the wrong details emphasized - we know all about the daisy but her affair was a parenthetical add. The final straw was when she talked about tasting food again and made her “infamous” beef stew. Are there not Christian editors?
That being said, I finished because she does have an incredible story of resilience. If only she has an editor that let her tell the story differently.
That being said, I finished because she does have an incredible story of resilience. If only she has an editor that let her tell the story differently.
November 3, 2016
There was an interesting perspective in this, and a good message. But I struggled a little with 1. the hero worship of a basically deadbeat dad (I get it's reality, but still!), 2. the writing style, which didn't lend to me getting into it and 3) the omission of details, presumably to protect parties but definitely at the expense of the narration.
August 12, 2016
From her blog, I was familiar with some of Edie's story, and I loved the way she shared her love for Jesus in everything she wrote. As I read her memoir, at times I would have sworn I was reading a gut-wrenching novel. She so bravely and eloquently shares the hardest parts of her past, and then leads her reader to the grace and redemption found only in the gospel. Highly recommend.
June 28, 2020
Truth. Tenderness. Compassion. This book is about the paradox of loving and hurting deeply in your family of origin. It’s also about trauma and restoration and mercy and heartache. The characters are colorful and lively, even more so knowing you can’t make this stuff up and truth has more punch than fiction when we talk about the heartbreaks of life that unravel us so that we can become whole.
February 2, 2020
I always hate giving books this kind of awful rating and sometimes it’s because I’ve read one too many memoir in which the author simply doesn’t know how to tell a story or emotionally engage a reader. Or write.
What made this one really annoying, though, was its religious chipper-ness. You could almost feel the author holding back her pain in order to tell people that “Jesus heals”. I didn’t notice the book was a Tyndale imprint until I finished so I guess I have myself to blame.
The writing was lazy and trite.
1. “Wherever he blankety-blank well pleased” - Really? The author can’t repeat swear words?
2. “The lights made a funny pattern” - what kind of pattern is that?
3. “Sat on your chest like an elephant” - how unoriginal
These lazy metaphors are endless.
Then there are all the summaries that should have been fleshed out in the story. Her Mamaw was as mad as she’d ever seen her. Show us. The pantry had been busted out when an uncle came home drunk. Show us. On and on.
The dialogue was too much, too hard to slow down and make sense of.
Calling her Sister - even if she did, it sounds silly in writing.
Covered in perverted tattoos. What were they?
The sexual molestation - I don’t need to be disgusted with details, but an author just cannot get by with a casual mention - oh, and I was sexually molested by a relative.
I skimmed the last quarter of the book and thought 100 times - where the hell was her editor?
What made this one really annoying, though, was its religious chipper-ness. You could almost feel the author holding back her pain in order to tell people that “Jesus heals”. I didn’t notice the book was a Tyndale imprint until I finished so I guess I have myself to blame.
The writing was lazy and trite.
1. “Wherever he blankety-blank well pleased” - Really? The author can’t repeat swear words?
2. “The lights made a funny pattern” - what kind of pattern is that?
3. “Sat on your chest like an elephant” - how unoriginal
These lazy metaphors are endless.
Then there are all the summaries that should have been fleshed out in the story. Her Mamaw was as mad as she’d ever seen her. Show us. The pantry had been busted out when an uncle came home drunk. Show us. On and on.
The dialogue was too much, too hard to slow down and make sense of.
Calling her Sister - even if she did, it sounds silly in writing.
Covered in perverted tattoos. What were they?
The sexual molestation - I don’t need to be disgusted with details, but an author just cannot get by with a casual mention - oh, and I was sexually molested by a relative.
I skimmed the last quarter of the book and thought 100 times - where the hell was her editor?
February 5, 2021
I literally can't get this story out of my head. I find myself pondering this beautifully-written memoir by Edie Wadsworth when I'm sipping my coffee or vacuuming or running errands. I don't know how she managed to tell such a heart-wrenching story with so much grace and kindness - not brushing over the tragedy and trauma of her life, but somehow weaving a surprising sweetness through it all. And then there's the redemptive element. Not the tidy, wrap-it-all-up-in-a-bow redemption either, but the messy, wounded kind. And I think that's the part that touched me most deeply. Highly recommended.
November 25, 2016
I got wind of an opportunity to read this book for free as part of a launch team. When I heard about a memoir, with an Appalachian perspective, plus a story of redemption; I knew it was going to be good. But, since this is Edie’s debut piece, I didn’t expect it to be that good. Her words are still lingering, long after I set the book down. She’s also prompted me to revisit pieces of my own story....{read the rest of my review here: http://www.embracingthechapters.com/r...
October 24, 2017
“And so began my life with the most wonderful and heartbreaking man I would ever know.”
I get this book. I relate to it and I understand Edie so well that it hurts me. I too, have a father like Edie did. He was my best friend and he was the best guy that I had ever known for thirteen straight years. Until he drank and did drugs. I too, had and still have a mother who saved me and was there for me every step of the way. So my connection with Edie was not where the struggle laid. I understood every single thought she had and every single step she took.
Ultimately, non-fiction is hard for me to read, this I have come to understand but I felt like this one flowed well enough for me to comprehend and follow. I did struggle with the speed of the book. The timeline once Edie hit a certain age (probably the last half of the book) just ZOOMED right on by that I had a hard time keeping up with what was happening and when. With the timeline going so quick and jumping I got rather confused and had to back track a lot which in turn made me more confused and asking more questions. The narrator was also very vague about a lot of the things that occurred to her which in turns leave a lot more unanswered questions for me.
All in all, I enjoyed this read. I enjoyed the symbolism of the title and o enjoyed Edie’s struggle to adapt and care for her father. Most importantly, having a father like that is so hard. It’s draining and it’s exhausting. But he’s your dad, you wouldn’t change it for anything. Edie did a fantastic job at portraying a daughters devotion to her father.
I get this book. I relate to it and I understand Edie so well that it hurts me. I too, have a father like Edie did. He was my best friend and he was the best guy that I had ever known for thirteen straight years. Until he drank and did drugs. I too, had and still have a mother who saved me and was there for me every step of the way. So my connection with Edie was not where the struggle laid. I understood every single thought she had and every single step she took.
Ultimately, non-fiction is hard for me to read, this I have come to understand but I felt like this one flowed well enough for me to comprehend and follow. I did struggle with the speed of the book. The timeline once Edie hit a certain age (probably the last half of the book) just ZOOMED right on by that I had a hard time keeping up with what was happening and when. With the timeline going so quick and jumping I got rather confused and had to back track a lot which in turn made me more confused and asking more questions. The narrator was also very vague about a lot of the things that occurred to her which in turns leave a lot more unanswered questions for me.
All in all, I enjoyed this read. I enjoyed the symbolism of the title and o enjoyed Edie’s struggle to adapt and care for her father. Most importantly, having a father like that is so hard. It’s draining and it’s exhausting. But he’s your dad, you wouldn’t change it for anything. Edie did a fantastic job at portraying a daughters devotion to her father.
June 23, 2017
I have followed Edie Wadsworth for a few years on social media, so I was intrigued by her book. It is an excellent story of God's redemption in the face of alcohol and abuse in the hills of Appalachia.
I read Hillbilly Elegy a few months ago and enjoyed it. But in my opinion, this book is many times better.
I read Hillbilly Elegy a few months ago and enjoyed it. But in my opinion, this book is many times better.
April 10, 2022
Glass Castle and Educated are better than this, though I definitely didn’t hate this. The author for sure had a rough childhood and even adulthood and it was interesting to hear her faith journey. The last quarter of the book is very Christian based. This book validates the phrase “daddy issues” and underscores how important a stable father / home life really is.
June 14, 2016
I first heard about this book during an interview that the author gave for faith writers. I was intrigued and had to find the book. Reading this book was like sitting down with a friend who is sharing her life story. There's no pretense, no frills, no walls. Just brutal honesty. I applaud her for being so real. Even when the pain of re-living the experiences in order to be able to write about it had to be unbearable at times, Edie Wadsworth is transparent. This is book truly a book of coming to terms with one's past and learning to forgive and accept love. As a Christian, I've always wondered how to portray God as a loving father to people who have not experienced that in their own life. Wouldn't a father be the last thing they would want? Wadsworth opened my eyes to the journey one might would go through to grasp the understanding of God as a loving father.
September 21, 2016
I had the wonderful opportunity to be on the book launch team of Edie Wadsworth's memoir, All the Pretty Things. I had little knowledge of Edie as a blogger, but I love a good memoir, so I jumped at the opportunity. Little did I know that this memoir would stick with me long after I finished it. (I actually had to pace myself because I wanted to devour it once I got started.) Edie tells the story of her difficult childhood with grace and truth. Her descriptions are beautiful and haunting and riveting. But most surprising is her honesty about her own bad choices and their consequences. Edie allows us in to the pain of her world and walks us through the fire and into the other side where Jesus brings beauty from ashes. I finished this book wanting to show more grace to others and believing that my own bad choices could be redeemed.
September 28, 2016
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book I could not put down, but All the Pretty Things was one of those books. Each word and story drew me in and even the parts that were painful to read were so beautiful. This is a story of redemption and Jesus. A story of brokenness and restoration. Edie Wadsworth did such an amazing job of honoring her heritage without sugar-coating it. This is a book I will recommend to others, a book that I will continue to pick up off the shelf in the years to come. Thank you for your hard work, Edie, and for being vulnerable enough to share your story.
May 2, 2017
Edie Wadsworth writes well; I found her life story compelling, however I did find her hero worship of her drunken father disconcerting. Her mother was the hard working parent, the one who was there for her, and yet Edie glorifies her Daddy for some reason, dedicating the book to him first, calling him her "first love". This attitude permeated the whole narrative, and so it quickly became irritating.
I had difficulty relating to her in many ways, but overall I found this memoir to be a good one.
I had difficulty relating to her in many ways, but overall I found this memoir to be a good one.
January 7, 2017
I liked the writing in this book: raw and honest. It didn't hurt that I knew of her. I went to the same high school. Her background is similar to others I know, but she was able to get beyond the stigma. It proves that we have more control of our lives than circumstances have us believe. We are more resilient than we sometimes realize.
July 17, 2018
This book had so many beautiful and tragic moments. The writing pulled me in and made me feel so much of the writer's joy and pain. I marveled at how she bounced back from so much. As much as I really loved the story I was so saddened by what she allowed to seep into her life. I knew something bad was going to happen but I had so hoped that she would not be the cause of it. As much as she hated growing up in a divorced family, she allowed it in her own family and it was of her own making. I was grieved by this.
But as I read this book I was working with a young girl who has come from similar circumstances as Edie. I asked this young girl, who skips school and doesn't know how to read, what she wanted to be when she grew up. When she said that she wanted to become a doctor I told her about Edie and her rise out of extreme poverty to become a doctor. But then when I read about how things turned out badly for Edie I felt some despair. Is there no way to climb out and not still not make sinful decisions. I hope there is.
But as I read this book I was working with a young girl who has come from similar circumstances as Edie. I asked this young girl, who skips school and doesn't know how to read, what she wanted to be when she grew up. When she said that she wanted to become a doctor I told her about Edie and her rise out of extreme poverty to become a doctor. But then when I read about how things turned out badly for Edie I felt some despair. Is there no way to climb out and not still not make sinful decisions. I hope there is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2021
I loved this book! Edie’s memoir was so beautiful. She had a difficult upbringing, having grown up in rural Appalachia with divorced parents and an alcoholic father, but the love she carries in her heart for her father, despite the pain he causes, is admirable and yet at the same time it is pure and real for her, too.
I think what made me admire her was throughout the book —-there’s never any lingering anger and resentment held toward her dad. Surely, there were painful experiences and utter heartbreak, but I just respect her not harboring bitterness. That’s not something you come across, especially in writing.
Edie’s introduction to church as a young girl and teen, her propensity to get baptized and then re-baptized at new churches she would visit, and then her eventual understanding of the gospel as a young adult and the shame she had been dealing with (and how Jesus had taken her shame for her, at the cross) was a powerful story.
I also really enjoyed hearing about her college and medical school years and her getting to become a doctor! As a first generation college graduate myself I really loved hearing her story regarding that experience.
Wonderful read.
I think what made me admire her was throughout the book —-there’s never any lingering anger and resentment held toward her dad. Surely, there were painful experiences and utter heartbreak, but I just respect her not harboring bitterness. That’s not something you come across, especially in writing.
Edie’s introduction to church as a young girl and teen, her propensity to get baptized and then re-baptized at new churches she would visit, and then her eventual understanding of the gospel as a young adult and the shame she had been dealing with (and how Jesus had taken her shame for her, at the cross) was a powerful story.
I also really enjoyed hearing about her college and medical school years and her getting to become a doctor! As a first generation college graduate myself I really loved hearing her story regarding that experience.
Wonderful read.
March 24, 2019
Wish I could give this one 4.5 stars. It’s absolutely baffling how much I felt myself connect with this author. I read the early parts of this book shaking my head in disbelief at how similar her story is to my own experience. I found myself sending late night texts to my sister who also read (and recommended) the book saying “I feel like I wrote this about us!”. Looking forward to reading more about and from Edie Wadsworth.
December 24, 2024
This was a beautiful book. I can't imagine a life like that, having a drunk for a father and growing up without basic necessities. Edie manages to make a name for herself inspite of her difficult background, though it takes her a lot of courage to get past those haunting memories of the past. She gets her strength from God's word and a wonderful set of people who help her grow into the person she becomes.
May 18, 2017
LOVED this book! Rivals The Glass Castle and is from a Christian perspective. Her story is real, raw and redemptive. Highly recommend this one! A quick read...couldn't put it down.
February 24, 2018
Fantastic! Well-written and powerful story. Loved it.
December 18, 2018
Wow. Just...wow. Real and hard and redemptive.
December 27, 2018
This is a raw, profound and touching book that brought both tears and laughter. I loved every page of this book.
March 1, 2019
An inspiring read! This was a book I could not put down. I found myself working to grab a second or two to read a few pages. Grab her story, you won't be able to put it down.
October 27, 2023
Stopped at Chapter 23. The writing style isn't for me, I guess; and it has not been as emotionally provocative as I thought it would be.
July 4, 2024
Good memoir to break up all that ACOTAR - felt like it was pretty well written besides the last few chapters
Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews