Shadow Girl: A Memoir of Attachment (The Iowa Series)

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: Deb Abramson has written what we all need to read: the truth. By turns poignant and funny, this memoir brings us into the world of a girl with incredible insight and show us how she managed to grow up. It was so refreshing to read something real for a change, instead of the slick stuff we're too often fed. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant and Lyrical
Review: Deb Abramson's memoir is beautifully crafted. She shares intimate family details with strong, descriptive writing. There are many well-chosen scenes and moments that will stay in your memory for a long time. When my husband and I finished chapter one, we had an argument about who was going to read the book first. Difficult to put down and inspiring to read.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally lucid and moving
Review: I, too, read this book in one sitting. Abramson's exploration of memory is remarkable in its ability to convey entire universes of emotion and pain through a single detail. She retrieves those details despite the risks memory must pose and the temptation to forget, and presents them to the reader with empathy -- for us, for her family, and for the child she once was. Her approach to storytelling -- through snapshots and isolated scenes -- perfectly mirrors the personality characteristic that lies at the heart of her book: what happens when narrative, the way humans tell stories about themselves and make connections with others, breaks down. I was not quite the same person after reading this book. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Book
Review: Ms. Abramson tells the story of her childhood and early adulthood in this exploration of family, relationship, and a difficult journey toward adulthood. Her writing is spectacular, describing the lovely and difficult meanings of incidents readers will find familiar. Many writers strive and fail to depict real life and all the subtle moments that mark turning points, successes, and failures. Ms. Abramson has done it with Shadow Girl. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Vivid Style and Cross Gender appeal
Review: There have been only a few books that I needed to finish reading in one sitting! This is one of them! Ms. Abramsom has a wonderfully vivid style of writing that not only develops the characters, but creates the entire emotional setting. Her writing is very "painterly", developing images of color and texture on almost every page. Although I am a male, there are events and psychological insights that remove any gender differences. This work will appeal to either male or female.