Broken Branches: a memoir
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57888380-broken-branches
This book was so wonderfully written. It takes you on a journey of a child, Ann, whose mother, Judy, suffered from abuse her whole life. It tells the story from the child’s eyes on how witnessing the abuse day after day would cause them to walk on eggshells and develop an anxiety and worry over her mother. Not wanting to go to school some days because then she couldn’t be there to help and save her mom.
This environment would soon contribute to who she was as a person, this shy quiet little girl who just wanted a safe environment go grow and flourish.
As she grew older, and started dating, the cycle would rear its ugly head and she found herself trapped with a guy that was no better than her stepdad. The control he tried to dominate over her.
I was so proud of Ann for sticking up for herself and making sure she put her abuser behind bars. She was in a tough situation with having three kids with special needs and had wanted them to be safe and not live in a household like she did, where abuse was a constant.
This was a novel that takes you on a journey how one survives the daily life of being in a domestic abuse situation. How it impacts their psyche and the anxiety and fear they live with day after day. How the kids develop as adults due to witnessing that abuse daily.
This was such an excellent read and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a memoir on domestic abuse.
Description
A family's strength should be built like the strongest tree in the forest. While branches and trunks appear to only be wood they consist of many cells used for strength and resistance to injury and decay. Every child should be born into a family unit of love, strength, and stability. The combination of the three components builds a solid foundation for that Childs future. To lack just once could breed fragility.
Ann is a child who wants nothing more than these three things. Due to the complexity of her conception Ann is faced with rebuilding these three components not into herself but into her mother Judy. Ann goes through life learning the importance of these three components. And just how critical enduring through life is without each.
Ann learns early on that without these three components she's destined live among “Broken Branches.” How she chooses to navigate through her surroundings could mean life or death. Follow Ann as she takes you through her journey of “writing the wrong” and choosing between staying broken or standing strong.