The Only Girl in the World-- memoir by Maude Julien

[catta]

Maude Julien's father masterminded her birth and upbringing in order to create what he considered to be a "super human." His process included an unbelievably isolated, emotionally and physically abusive childhood designed to eliminate any sign of weakness from his daughter. In this book, Maude (now a therapist) recalls this horrific upbringing in great detail. From an early age, you can see how she begins to question her parents' practices and rebel in the only ways she knew how, not knowing whether there was an outside world to escape to.

The book contains very detailed descriptions of violence and cruelty toward children and animals. It was a very difficult read that made me cry many times, including now as I'm remembering it. So I'm writing this review with a caveat that this book is probably not for everyone. But I'm recommending it here because Maude's story really spoke to me: her inklings that things were not right in her family, the courage and stubbornness that helped her survive and eventually escape them, and the compassion with which she is able to look back upon the situation and, miraculously, help others. I think others might connect to her story, too.

If you are on the fence about whether this story is for you, or whether it will be too intense, you can google Maude Julien and find several interviews with her that will hopefully give you more insight into the contents of her book.

I think about this memoir often because it helped me better understand how abusive families create an insular environment that tries to convince those inside of it that THEY are the ones doing it right. How the qualities my parents often said made me "bad" are also the ones that helped me escape, just like Maude.