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The Playground
Rachel Parsons was once a confident, creative little girl. Then sixth grade happened. Suddenly finding herself a favorite target of bullies, Rachel endures an endless year of escalating abuse. Adults turn a blind eye, or worse, blame her. At the end of that year, she vows to forget what happened at George Washington Elementary and move on with her life. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, as she finds herself caught in a life long trap, continuously seeking validation from abusive men who remind her of her long gone bullies.
The Playground illustrates the lasting trauma caused by childhood bullying, demonstrating how it continues to adversely affect the life of its victims many years after the bullies have vanished.
Note: This book contains some sexually explicit scenes. It is intended for mature audiences only.
The Playground illustrates the lasting trauma caused by childhood bullying, demonstrating how it continues to adversely affect the life of its victims many years after the bullies have vanished.
Note: This book contains some sexually explicit scenes. It is intended for mature audiences only.
- GenresFiction
359 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 8, 2017
170 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Shannon Heuston
12 books66 followers Shannon was born in Boston, MA but grew up in Somers, New York. She attended the State University of New York College at Potsdam, graduating with a BA in English Writing and Sociology. She mainly uses these locations as the settings of her novels, although UNDER GOD'S BIG SKY is set in Montana.
Shannon knew she wanted to be a writer at a very young age. By the age of six she was writing and illustrating stories in her spiral notebooks (to the glee of her older sister and her friends).
At the age of eight she enjoyed a brief interlude of local notoriety when she won the Best Fairytale of the Year at Primrose Elementary for THE POISON TULIP, which she had written and illustrated herself. The story was published in THE NORTH COUNTY NEWS and for a short period of time she enjoyed a taste of fame.
Shannon has wanted to be an author all her life and the ability to publish and share her novels has been the culmination of a lifelong dream.
Shannon knew she wanted to be a writer at a very young age. By the age of six she was writing and illustrating stories in her spiral notebooks (to the glee of her older sister and her friends).
At the age of eight she enjoyed a brief interlude of local notoriety when she won the Best Fairytale of the Year at Primrose Elementary for THE POISON TULIP, which she had written and illustrated herself. The story was published in THE NORTH COUNTY NEWS and for a short period of time she enjoyed a taste of fame.
Shannon has wanted to be an author all her life and the ability to publish and share her novels has been the culmination of a lifelong dream.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 3, 2019
Painful to read but powerful
During virtually the entire reading of this book my stomach was in knots. I alternated between bouts of pity for Rachel and anger at the degradation she consistently allowed others to impose upon her. Ultimately her brutal story made me realize that my reactions came from distant memories of unpleasant experiences in my own childhood.
The sense of a child's feelings of helplessness and unfairness—along with the questions of “why…?”—can create insecurities that last a lifetime. This was definitely an uncomfortable read for me; though exhausted, I finished in one sitting, hoping for the “movie ending.” Although there was no such ending, I applaud the author for forcing us to take a good long look at what the long-term consequences of bullying can be.
During virtually the entire reading of this book my stomach was in knots. I alternated between bouts of pity for Rachel and anger at the degradation she consistently allowed others to impose upon her. Ultimately her brutal story made me realize that my reactions came from distant memories of unpleasant experiences in my own childhood.
The sense of a child's feelings of helplessness and unfairness—along with the questions of “why…?”—can create insecurities that last a lifetime. This was definitely an uncomfortable read for me; though exhausted, I finished in one sitting, hoping for the “movie ending.” Although there was no such ending, I applaud the author for forcing us to take a good long look at what the long-term consequences of bullying can be.
October 17, 2018
Heart breaking and amazing.
I read this book in three days. I wish it never ended. So many parts reminded me of myself and my childhood/young adult years. I felt like the author and i were kindred spirits. I rooted for her through the entire story and was surprised by the ending. Shannon Heuston, you are an amazing woman. I am grateful that you had the courage to share your story.
I read this book in three days. I wish it never ended. So many parts reminded me of myself and my childhood/young adult years. I felt like the author and i were kindred spirits. I rooted for her through the entire story and was surprised by the ending. Shannon Heuston, you are an amazing woman. I am grateful that you had the courage to share your story.
October 14, 2018
Bullies leave scars
The effects of bullying can last a lifetime. I felt so bad for her. I've stopped believing that it's better for women who grew up in the eighties and nineties. I hope that some day, it will be better. If dating these days is this bad, I'm glad I've been married most of my adult life.
The effects of bullying can last a lifetime. I felt so bad for her. I've stopped believing that it's better for women who grew up in the eighties and nineties. I hope that some day, it will be better. If dating these days is this bad, I'm glad I've been married most of my adult life.
October 25, 2019
This book started off with me sympathizing with the author/ main character, but by md way, I just wanted to smack her.
She had no “balls” at all, just a Whitney, wimpy, ahh poor me girl.
I know bullying and neglect can get you down.
I was bullied, we were poor, and I wore hand me downs, I was abused at home, badly, to the point of hospitalization and lost teeth. But sheeesh, nothing positive?
She had no “balls” at all, just a Whitney, wimpy, ahh poor me girl.
I know bullying and neglect can get you down.
I was bullied, we were poor, and I wore hand me downs, I was abused at home, badly, to the point of hospitalization and lost teeth. But sheeesh, nothing positive?
July 8, 2019
I really connected with Rachel as a child. I had a miserable 4th grade year as the new kid in class where the teacher allowed the other kids to pick on me and I cried a lot. The teacher reminded me of the one I had. Fortunately it didn’t alter the rest of my life like it did hers. It was exhausting to read her continual negative self talk and desperation. I was hoping she would find a positive outcome in the end, but it ended with her being alone and unhappy. The only thing that kept me reading was to see how she overcame it all. She could use a therapist or at least a few self help books. Good grief!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2020
The Playground A semi-autobiography
Very well written, very detailed and good editing
If even a quarter of this based-on-true-life book is factual, the author has endured so much heartache it makes me want to cry. I was a shy person in school and tried to stay under the radar. But in many ways I can relate to the author.
It is so frustrating to see what she keeps putting herself through. I am sure she has a passive-agressive side to her as we are only hearing one side of the story and as the saying goes, there’s three sides to a story- his, hers, and the truth. I’m not calling her a liar, just saying that she may have embellished some of the experiences.
In my opinion the Epilogue was the best part of the book - an excerpt:
Perhaps things would have been different had the adults in my life took care not to reinforce the message I was receiving from my peers. Maybe if they had told me I was beautiful and special and incredible just the way I was, instead of telling me to lose weight if I didn’t want to get teased, that would have made a difference.
By telling me not to complain about the bullying, not to fight back, I was taught that my feelings didn’t matter.
Highly recommend
Very well written, very detailed and good editing
If even a quarter of this based-on-true-life book is factual, the author has endured so much heartache it makes me want to cry. I was a shy person in school and tried to stay under the radar. But in many ways I can relate to the author.
It is so frustrating to see what she keeps putting herself through. I am sure she has a passive-agressive side to her as we are only hearing one side of the story and as the saying goes, there’s three sides to a story- his, hers, and the truth. I’m not calling her a liar, just saying that she may have embellished some of the experiences.
In my opinion the Epilogue was the best part of the book - an excerpt:
Perhaps things would have been different had the adults in my life took care not to reinforce the message I was receiving from my peers. Maybe if they had told me I was beautiful and special and incredible just the way I was, instead of telling me to lose weight if I didn’t want to get teased, that would have made a difference.
By telling me not to complain about the bullying, not to fight back, I was taught that my feelings didn’t matter.
Highly recommend
August 3, 2019
When I saw this book, I judged it by it's cover. I thought it was about a kidnapping....wrong! I know you can't always judge a book by it's cover and I was happily surprised it was a different story than I had anticipated.
It's a semi-autobiography about a young girl who is bullied from a young age at school. The bullying carries over into her adult life. She makes one bad choice after another with the men in her life. I almost gave up on this book, but it's interesting and kept me turning the pages. I'm glad I read the whole thing and found out at the end that it is based on a true story. This kind of thing happens every day all over the world. It's a painful journey for this author, but it's an important story to be told. Anyone who has been bullied from childhood should read this as soon as they are past their young teen years. It could help a lot of people, women especially, but could affect men also.
At times I was so angry at the author for how she felt about her own self. Then she would make me laugh(not a lot of humor in this book, but there's some comic relief, thankfully!).
It's a semi-autobiography about a young girl who is bullied from a young age at school. The bullying carries over into her adult life. She makes one bad choice after another with the men in her life. I almost gave up on this book, but it's interesting and kept me turning the pages. I'm glad I read the whole thing and found out at the end that it is based on a true story. This kind of thing happens every day all over the world. It's a painful journey for this author, but it's an important story to be told. Anyone who has been bullied from childhood should read this as soon as they are past their young teen years. It could help a lot of people, women especially, but could affect men also.
At times I was so angry at the author for how she felt about her own self. Then she would make me laugh(not a lot of humor in this book, but there's some comic relief, thankfully!).
April 29, 2020
Couldn't put it down
This book has a very sad story. I wish the protagonist would have gone into more detail about her mother and her best friend because there was really no insight into either one
This is a sad story of someone with no self esteem. I just wanted to shake her when describing her adult relationships with men because they were so awful!! I hope this wasn't all based on true events and that all these things didn't actually happen.
I had a lot of empathy for Rachel since I was also overweight as a child and was constantly teased about it. This is definitely not a warm and fuzzy tale but rather one of constant pain and abuse. I feel terrible that anyone went through all that.
This book has a very sad story. I wish the protagonist would have gone into more detail about her mother and her best friend because there was really no insight into either one
This is a sad story of someone with no self esteem. I just wanted to shake her when describing her adult relationships with men because they were so awful!! I hope this wasn't all based on true events and that all these things didn't actually happen.
I had a lot of empathy for Rachel since I was also overweight as a child and was constantly teased about it. This is definitely not a warm and fuzzy tale but rather one of constant pain and abuse. I feel terrible that anyone went through all that.
September 6, 2019
Something needs to be done
Omg I know this is based on a true story, yet I laughed so hard
Other parts of the book I felt sorry for this young girl
The teacher was unkind and needed to be fired
Why did the teacher have to keep leaving her class room? Why didn't she have more control.? I know what it's like to be an outcast
Bulling is a very serious issue, something needs to be done
Parents need to be parents
Not leave it to the teachers to raise their children. IF YOU don't have time to raise and teach your children right from wrong then don't have children
Or give them to a loving home who will take the time to do what needs to be done.
Omg I know this is based on a true story, yet I laughed so hard
Other parts of the book I felt sorry for this young girl
The teacher was unkind and needed to be fired
Why did the teacher have to keep leaving her class room? Why didn't she have more control.? I know what it's like to be an outcast
Bulling is a very serious issue, something needs to be done
Parents need to be parents
Not leave it to the teachers to raise their children. IF YOU don't have time to raise and teach your children right from wrong then don't have children
Or give them to a loving home who will take the time to do what needs to be done.
January 21, 2020
Shocking True Story a Must Read
An excellent, but frightening look at a very pervasive all too common
issue in our society. Bullying has unfortunately become a very serious issue in our society especially in our schools. The author vividly portrays her painful and shocking story and shows us how her experience followed her into her adult life and had a devastating effect on her ability to choose healthy relationships with men. She also reminds us that this issue must be recognized and effectively dealt with by the adults in a child's life , that adults must educate and protect children from this disease
Shocking Heartfelt Story
Ruthann Couse
An excellent, but frightening look at a very pervasive all too common
issue in our society. Bullying has unfortunately become a very serious issue in our society especially in our schools. The author vividly portrays her painful and shocking story and shows us how her experience followed her into her adult life and had a devastating effect on her ability to choose healthy relationships with men. She also reminds us that this issue must be recognized and effectively dealt with by the adults in a child's life , that adults must educate and protect children from this disease
Shocking Heartfelt Story
Ruthann Couse
May 27, 2019
Couldn't put it down...
I wasn't bullied in school but saw it happen. I attended a small rural school and felt no qualms about standing up for the underdog. Trying to teach my own children later in life to always be kind isn't easy. Peer pressure has taken on a whole new monster with social media. I recommend this book for a big eye opener to adults. Teach your children to be kind.
I wasn't bullied in school but saw it happen. I attended a small rural school and felt no qualms about standing up for the underdog. Trying to teach my own children later in life to always be kind isn't easy. Peer pressure has taken on a whole new monster with social media. I recommend this book for a big eye opener to adults. Teach your children to be kind.
December 14, 2024
i think this is a true story starting when she was in 6th grade and a boy was tormenting her
the teacher made things worse. she blamed herself
things did not improve after she graduated. she was working dead end jobs. she went to college and was still not getting in good relationships
she was bullied as a child and she always picked the wrong men her whole life and bad relationships. she never did find real love or a good man
the teacher made things worse. she blamed herself
things did not improve after she graduated. she was working dead end jobs. she went to college and was still not getting in good relationships
she was bullied as a child and she always picked the wrong men her whole life and bad relationships. she never did find real love or a good man
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2019
Really interesting and sad at same time.
I wish there were more books like this, writing in the first person. It would be a blessing to grade school kids to be able to have more empathy for others. We just might have a better, kinder world.
It must have been very painful to bring all of this out. Thank you for choosing to be the light.
Recommended! 👍
I wish there were more books like this, writing in the first person. It would be a blessing to grade school kids to be able to have more empathy for others. We just might have a better, kinder world.
It must have been very painful to bring all of this out. Thank you for choosing to be the light.
Recommended! 👍
October 5, 2019
I wanted to write to the author to send her love and kindness - she was bullied dreadfully, appallingly and there was no real redemption. She remained kind-hearted and even courageous but was definitely marked, damaged for life. The book became frustrating to me because she was almost too nice and forgiving and just didn't become less co-dependent. So sad.
February 6, 2020
I appreciated the message.
I read 99% of this book not really enjoying it. In hindsight I realize I didn't like it because of how closely I could identify with it! It wasn't the most well-written book, but it's a story that needs to be told! People need to understand the long-lasting effects of bullying - not just on those who don't survive, but on those that do.
I read 99% of this book not really enjoying it. In hindsight I realize I didn't like it because of how closely I could identify with it! It wasn't the most well-written book, but it's a story that needs to be told! People need to understand the long-lasting effects of bullying - not just on those who don't survive, but on those that do.
August 6, 2023
Struggled to finish
Just a couple chapters in, I was annoyed with the characters. Halfway through, I wanted to stop because the main character was just whining and doing same thing different chapter. I wouldn't have finished the book if I hadn't forced myself in the hopes that something else would happen.
Just a couple chapters in, I was annoyed with the characters. Halfway through, I wanted to stop because the main character was just whining and doing same thing different chapter. I wouldn't have finished the book if I hadn't forced myself in the hopes that something else would happen.
November 18, 2018
Awesome book
Just thinking about the whole thing makes me wonder what comes next. Like when she was doing online dating, why did she make such poor choices. There are loads of good guys she overlooked.
Just thinking about the whole thing makes me wonder what comes next. Like when she was doing online dating, why did she make such poor choices. There are loads of good guys she overlooked.
December 1, 2018
A Book About Bullying
Bullying for this woman began way back when she was in sixth grade and it cursed her for her entire life. She was unable to keep relationships or jobs. Be good to others and fight to stop bullying. It’s a killer.
Bullying for this woman began way back when she was in sixth grade and it cursed her for her entire life. She was unable to keep relationships or jobs. Be good to others and fight to stop bullying. It’s a killer.
April 25, 2019
Childhood tramas affect your whole life.
This girl, was abused. At school and had no adult support. My heart hurt reading this. I hope, by writing this, she gets some peace and her happy ending.
This girl, was abused. At school and had no adult support. My heart hurt reading this. I hope, by writing this, she gets some peace and her happy ending.
January 27, 2021
A look into long term affects of bullying
A child bullied by not only classmates but the adults in her life as well. She never learned to love herself and continued to have toxic relationships into adulthood as a result.
A child bullied by not only classmates but the adults in her life as well. She never learned to love herself and continued to have toxic relationships into adulthood as a result.
February 7, 2019
The book is almost too good.
Impossible to put down on the one hand and so real you sometimes need to take a break from it on the other. A very powerful and moving book.
Impossible to put down on the one hand and so real you sometimes need to take a break from it on the other. A very powerful and moving book.
March 7, 2019
Wow
This book both made me feel amused and also sad. I love reading memoirs and this is a good one. I also felt sad because wow she was really put through the ringer as a kid.
This book both made me feel amused and also sad. I love reading memoirs and this is a good one. I also felt sad because wow she was really put through the ringer as a kid.
August 1, 2019
Epic Kindness message
Although I couldn't put the book down in its own right, the epilogue gave me chills. This from someone who never writes a book review. Excellent job my dear
Although I couldn't put the book down in its own right, the epilogue gave me chills. This from someone who never writes a book review. Excellent job my dear
August 4, 2019
Unfortunately I can empathize with this story more than I would like to. It is well written and I would definitely recommend giving it a read.
August 16, 2019
Wonderful read!
Raw, real, and a coming to terms of an intelligent young lady's experiences of being bullied. A must read on courage and acceptance.
Raw, real, and a coming to terms of an intelligent young lady's experiences of being bullied. A must read on courage and acceptance.
September 19, 2019
Bullying sucks and leaves behind some scars but this book just wasn't it for me .
December 29, 2019
Everyone should read this book!
With the way the world is today, everyone should read this book! It really opens you eyes and makes you think!
With the way the world is today, everyone should read this book! It really opens you eyes and makes you think!
June 19, 2020
Heart Wrenching
The author makes you feel her pain, especially as a child. The book is an eye opening and worth reading.
The author makes you feel her pain, especially as a child. The book is an eye opening and worth reading.
October 19, 2020
Not the best.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews