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Summary: A Heartbreaking Story
Review: "Mommy, if I died, would you miss me? Would you cry?" She said: "What would I have to cry about? I'd have one less mouth ta feed!" Then she started laughing and said: "No, I'm just kiddin'. I probably would cry because I'd have ta come up with the money ta bury yer little worthless [self]. Course, I could always just stick a hame bone up yer [butt] and let the dogs drag yer off." This statement was a part of everyday life for author Trena Cole and her six siblings. 'Charred Souls' is a book about child abuse in a way you wouldn't be able to imagine if you haven't been there yourself. Unfortunately, events like these take place in many families. Can you even call it a family? Trena Cole and her six siblings were the victims of their parents' twisted, sadistic and degrading game play. They seemed to be born to be abused verbally, emotional and physically. It took a lot of courage and strength for Trena Cole to tell her story and it is as heartbreaking as it is devastating. The story starts from the age of four years old where she is able to remember what happens. Trena had no childhood at her own as she was the oldest and forced to be a little mother of her siblings and saw herself caught in what she calls a 'babyfactory'. Her mother and stepfather were directly mean and sadistic and still are till this day. They forced recreational abuse on their children - simply for the fun of it. 'Charred Souls' describes the 'side effects' of mentally and physically abused children and that not every child reacts the same way. She tells us about the verbal abuse that were so damaging that she really believed that she was ugly, stupid and worthless and tried everything she could to be worth her parents. Her and her siblings also believed that all families lived like this, because they didn't know anything else. It describes how you cope with it later in life and that some scars will always be there. 'Charred souls' took me through more than one broken heart, many nightmares and many hateful thoughts. Abused children think it's their own fault that they are getting abused. They believe it's normal to live this way. They do everything they can to please their parents. They are divided between love and hate, and don't really know the difference. Also as adults they haven't found the right way of living and still believe it was their fault. If you've been abused, this book can help you in realizing that it was never your fault. That you were supposed to be loved. That you are not worthless and stupid. This book is also for those who are spouses, lovers, friends or acquaintances of abused people, to help understand what they are going through - both then and now.
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Summary: the merit is in the psychological value of this personal ...
Review: ...experience. Reading this book is like a personal interview with someone who not only lived 'child abuse' but had the insight to understand the dynamics of the perpetrators as well.
Although this book is not literary, it is written well: emotionally powerful, educational and entertaining (definitely holds your interest) to read.
I have read a lot in the field of child abuse, first hand accounts, clinical studies, etc., and this is one of the best books on the subject besides a Child Called It .
Commendation is due for the narrator's voice and tone: not a poor me tone, but a factual, 'I have suvived' tone, actually laced with an underlying sarcastic humor (I actually cracked up in places, because the humor reveals the ridiculousness of adults bullying a small child). This book can be therapeutic to those who are in the proper healing stages of recovery.
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Summary: A Battle For LIfe........
Review: CHARRED SOULS is a powerfully drawn true sojourn of a child's struggle for physical and emotional existence. Trena Cole is the eldest of seven children borne by a poorly educated woman living in a shack on an alley in Small town America. Trena, from her earliest memory, was forced to be a wage earner, housekeeper and guardian for her siblings. Her Mother, Alcee, is a lazy and manipulative woman who exploits her children for money and emotionally abuses them for entertainment. Gordon, her stepfather who parades as the supreme king, enjoys the pain and control he wields within the confines of his house. All of the prominent players in Trena's existence are brought to life. Her schizophrenic Grandma alternately shows her love, yet subjects her to the harshest cruelest criticism possible. Aunts, uncles and cousins who witness the vicious cycle and do not raise a hand or voice to help. Raymond, the manager of a small restaurant at the end of the alley, takes advantage of a seven year old child with impunity. Well meaning school officials and child welfare agencies only succeed in creating a more desperate situation for the very children they attempt to assist. Trena's life was a montage of cruel and painful events meant to demean and deprive her and her siblings of a human face by the very forces that society expects to comfort, love and protect them, the nuclear family. CHARRED SOULS is a profoundly touching yet an "on edge of your seat" story. You find yourself pulling for this lost soul from the Introduction to the final page. This is not a light read, but a MUST read, especially for every professional whose life is dedicated to making children safe! All who read this book will be forever changed by it. This is a captivating and riveting story that makes you want to reach out and help this child! CHARRED SOULS is written in first person narrative and freely laced with dialogue exactly as Trena remembers it. The dialogue comes directly at you in waves and throws you into Trena's life exposing you to the reality of her "Hell on Earth." The subject matter is difficult yet the struggle is compelling. This is a journey you won't want to miss. Though it is unusual, a personal "Thank you" goes to Ms. Cole for sharing her experience and allowing herself to show the wonderment of the human spirit.
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Summary: Yes, Finally a Name for It
Review: I decided to purchase this book because of the term "Recreational Child Abuse." I think there are more of us out there than anyone realizes that grew up with recreational child abuse. Unfortunately, I had never been able to conjure up an appropriate way to describe it. Well, there you go. And yes, "recreational" means everything it implies. While I agree with others that the book isn't that elegantly written, it had substance, & while it was sometimes repetitive, I still couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened to Trena, Dana, Dena, Tim, Tom, Tony, & Denise. This is a 'knock the wind out of you story.' It's definitely not for the squeamish.
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Summary: MY THOUGHTS
Review: I DID NOT THINK WAS A VERY GOOD BOOK
IT WAS VERY POORLY WRITTEN
WOULDNT RECOMMEND
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Summary: A true miracle of survival
Review: I found this book to be heartbreaking, inspirational and disturbing. It is heartbreaking that Trena Cole was abused so horribly by the people who should have been giving her love, comfort and support. Even her grandmother, one of the least villianous, provided sanctity from other abusers at a price, thus the name "Grandma Fagan." It was inspirational that; after surviving the humiliation, torture, and chaos; she was able to become a nurturing parent and a successful person. Statistically, she should have become an alcoholic, a drug abuser and/or a prostitute. I truly admire you Trena. Lastly, it is disturbing that she, or any child, should ever have to endure what she did. I was disturbed by the language that was used toward her and her siblings. How could a child develop any self-esteem when subjected to the constant verbal abuse and humiliation? I guess the thing that disturbs me as much as these children being put through this, is that children are continuing to be subjected to this today. I wish that everyone could read this book to learn "what not to do" in raising a child. To quote another reviewer, it is a "knock the wind out of you" survivor story and is definitely "not for the squeamish." Trena, I hope the remainder of your life is as good as your first twenty years were bad.
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Summary: Inspirational and Educational
Review: I give this book five stars because that is the highest rating available. I was fortunate enough to hear Trena Cole speak to a group of professionls a few weeks ago and to meet her was even more touching than reading her book. She was very brave, and inspirational, to give us a glimpse of not only what happened to her and her siblings but the long term effects of severe emotional abuse. Her story is not only inspirational, but educational for anyone touching the lives of children in their profession. While reading Charred Souls I had to ask the same question Trena seemed to ask over and over as a child, "Is anyone watching? Is anyone paying attention?" While she and the rest of the children in her immediate, and extended, family were used as game pieces for sadistic controlling power games it seemed as if the whole world lived that way. Those children certainly had no inspiration or intervention from anyone to indicate anything else. Not since, A Child Called It, have I read such a heartbreaking case of child abuse. In her book Trena talks about the angels who passed through her life while she miracously made it through the chaos of her violently tornadic childhood. When a gas station attendant smiled at her and told her she was a pretty little girl, that was enough to keep her inspired and forging ahead for days. She refers to him as one of the angels who gave her a kind word when she felt like she was shriveling up and couldn't go on. Forced to stay strong and hard. Forced to keep the secret of her abuse from the rest of the world. I salute Trena Cole for her courage to become an inspirational angel, in her own right, by educating people who can make a difference in such a child's life.
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Summary: No Smiles
Review: I have read all of the reviews of this book, and in no way can I so eloquently state what others have. This book is a must read for so many, for all..perhaps. I didn't smile or chuckle once in this book, but I did fall in love with a little girl that I wanted to [grab] from the pages and take care of. Trena and her siblings went through more abuse that I tensed at every turn of the page. I cried for her, but now applaud her. That she was able to write this book is amazing....When I read this book, I really felt as though she was just a friend of mine and we were sitting in the yard under an umbrella and she tells this story. You feel like she's talking to you and the only thing that I can say is that the one thing that is missing is that you want to find her and hug her at the end. Her parents are disgusting to me...it's hard to believe that this abuse occurs everyday. How she survived, I don't know....maybe those angels. Please read this book. It's inspirational, it really is. It's hard to peek into a life so dysfunctional and mad, but I am very glad this book was recommended to me and I am glad that I read it. I think whether you work around children or not, it should be read by all...for the sake of the children.
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Summary: The Cycle Can Be Broken
Review: I hope everyone reads this book from cover to cover. This is a heart wrenching true story about a little girl who overcame being a victim of child abuse. There were four chapters in it that absolutely broke my heart. If you are an adult survivor of child abuse, this book is a must! It's very sad, but Trena Cole is an inspiration to me. I hope she has the inner strength to write a follow up to Charred Souls, I would love to know more about how her adult life turned out. My thumb is up for this book! It isn't an elegantly written book, but neither was the author's childhood. I believe she wrote it the way she lived it. If I were an English teacher and this was a term paper I wouldn't give it an "A" but as a biography about child abuse I give it an "A+."
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Summary: Wake up call
Review: I love this book, but I hate what it's about, child abuse. Everyone should read this. It illustrates almost everything you shouldn't say or do to children. It will hopefully make people think before they speak to children, especially if they are angry at the time. I read another review which criticized the language, but I feel it was necessary to get the point across. Verbal abuse is emotional abuse and it is just as crippling as physical abuse. I thank Ms. Cole for waking me up. I will choose my words carefully when I address my own children. Not that I would have ever used the language against them that was used against Trena and her siblings anyway, but I have heard others say cruel things to their children. I hope they read this book. I have to agree with Trena's therapist, most of the abuse, both physical and verbal, was for recreation. It's a shame that the person that little girl could rely on the most, her grandmother, was about as twisted as the rest of the adults in that family. This book is a wake up call to another form of child abuse I had never heard of, Recreational Child Abuse. This is the best memoir I've read on child abuse for years, definitely five stars.
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