Review: Painful to read, but couldn't put down!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 14, 2013
I devoured this book - the Prologue (see below) pulled me in and I just had to finish the book. The author did a great job of keeping you right on the edge of your seat.Tia is Melissa's daughter, and she was raised by Melissa and Gracie after her father was killed in Afghanistan on the day she was born.  This family was dysfunctional from the start.  Melissa retreated into her own world and Gracie raised Melissa like she was her own child for the first couple of years.  I use the phrase "like her own chld" loosely here as I don't know any mother who would put their child through what these two did.  Gracie was the true criminal here while Melissa's crime was just being negligent and keeping her eyes closed to what was going on.After Tia is arrested, she refuses to talk to anyone. A very caring (and clever) Dr. Eaton or  "psycho-doc" as she calls him, gets her to trust him and convinces her to start keeping a journal.  She documents her life through her birthdays and what happens each year.  She finally reaches a point though, that she  can't remember what happened, or just refuses to remember what happened.  She lets Dr. Eaton read her journal - I think because it is all too painful for her to say out loud - but she wants someone to know.Between her journal writings and conversations that Melissa has with her also dysfunctional mother Louise, you begin to learn about Tia's life.  At times it is almost too painful to read, but I couldn't put it down.  The tension was just enough to keep me riveted.I really liked how the author resolved the book and brought some lost souls together in the end.