Review of Unmasked
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Jaituni Sanghavi
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Review of Unmasked
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Unmasked" by Isabella moretto.]
Life can get tough at times. You seem to be on a search for answers, but that search just feels like a jump into the abyss because all you see is darkness and no answers. It may make you feel a lot of emotions, and you may even go to the extent of feeling suicidal if life keeps throwing these challenges over to you one after the other, each one worse than the previous one, if not the same. Such was the life of Dr. Isabella Moretto, the author of the book titled Unmasked.
In her memoir, Isabella has shared her entire life and the challenges she faced in her relationships, whether it was with her father, her first husband Jorge, her second husband Sebastian, or her son Giovanni.
It all mostly began in 1979, when she was just thirteen. Her father had just come out, or, in other words, he was gay. They were five siblings, and things were tough for them to accept because it just seemed like their father didn’t love them at all. At the same time, Isabella was bluntly told that she was ugly by a guy. And that was where her insecurities started building up. As Isabella also shares, she never felt love, even as a child. The only love she found was from her siblings. Even if they were at each other’s throats, they stuck together. She loved them, and they loved her back.
Later, she shares in her memoir how her first husband, Jorge, who was nineteen years older than her, was an alcoholic and a narcissist. He was emotionally and mentally abusive. He made rude and hurtful comments to her, saying how bad she smelled, among other things. She did not understand why she was with this man. Eventually, therapy helped her a bit.
Years later, Isabella got married again to a man named Sebastian. He was no good either. You’ll know why when you read the book. They had a son together who turned quite rebellious for multiple reasons. All this led her to feel suicidal again. Add to it the diagnosis of her father’s illness. He had pancytopenia, which meant counting days to live. All this added up to more stress and depressive feelings within her.
However, what I liked the most about this book is that, though the book is evidently sad and at times challenging to read, towards the end, during the time of COVID, when Isabella is reflecting on her life in isolation, she shows us a positive side to it all. She also tells us how loneliness can make you do things that you never imagined yourself doing. For instance, when she took to online chatting, knowing that the chat was not a genuine one but one that was led by a group of scammers, she still continued chatting because it gave her a sense of relief and happiness and took away from her loneliness. It is surely scary, but this does happen!
I liked how unfiltered this memoir was. The author did not shy away from sharing such intense details about her life. She showcased them beautifully. This, in my opinion, is very difficult to do, and I applaud Isabella for being bold enough to share her life story and being courageous enough to admit that even a physician can feel suicidal, and they too need therapy at times. There is nothing wrong or shameful about it. As Isabella says, she lived her whole life behind a mask; however, quite ironically, in the year of COVID, when the whole world was behind masks, Isabella chose to unmask herself, the result of which is this book. Thus, with all due respect and nothing to dislike about her bold journey, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Unmasked is a memoir for those who like reading stories that compel them to think, like it did for me. It sure is a slightly dark read, but if you’re up for it and want to read something strong and bold, then this is the book I would most certainly recommend.
******
Unmasked
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Life can get tough at times. You seem to be on a search for answers, but that search just feels like a jump into the abyss because all you see is darkness and no answers. It may make you feel a lot of emotions, and you may even go to the extent of feeling suicidal if life keeps throwing these challenges over to you one after the other, each one worse than the previous one, if not the same. Such was the life of Dr. Isabella Moretto, the author of the book titled Unmasked.
In her memoir, Isabella has shared her entire life and the challenges she faced in her relationships, whether it was with her father, her first husband Jorge, her second husband Sebastian, or her son Giovanni.
It all mostly began in 1979, when she was just thirteen. Her father had just come out, or, in other words, he was gay. They were five siblings, and things were tough for them to accept because it just seemed like their father didn’t love them at all. At the same time, Isabella was bluntly told that she was ugly by a guy. And that was where her insecurities started building up. As Isabella also shares, she never felt love, even as a child. The only love she found was from her siblings. Even if they were at each other’s throats, they stuck together. She loved them, and they loved her back.
Later, she shares in her memoir how her first husband, Jorge, who was nineteen years older than her, was an alcoholic and a narcissist. He was emotionally and mentally abusive. He made rude and hurtful comments to her, saying how bad she smelled, among other things. She did not understand why she was with this man. Eventually, therapy helped her a bit.
Years later, Isabella got married again to a man named Sebastian. He was no good either. You’ll know why when you read the book. They had a son together who turned quite rebellious for multiple reasons. All this led her to feel suicidal again. Add to it the diagnosis of her father’s illness. He had pancytopenia, which meant counting days to live. All this added up to more stress and depressive feelings within her.
However, what I liked the most about this book is that, though the book is evidently sad and at times challenging to read, towards the end, during the time of COVID, when Isabella is reflecting on her life in isolation, she shows us a positive side to it all. She also tells us how loneliness can make you do things that you never imagined yourself doing. For instance, when she took to online chatting, knowing that the chat was not a genuine one but one that was led by a group of scammers, she still continued chatting because it gave her a sense of relief and happiness and took away from her loneliness. It is surely scary, but this does happen!
I liked how unfiltered this memoir was. The author did not shy away from sharing such intense details about her life. She showcased them beautifully. This, in my opinion, is very difficult to do, and I applaud Isabella for being bold enough to share her life story and being courageous enough to admit that even a physician can feel suicidal, and they too need therapy at times. There is nothing wrong or shameful about it. As Isabella says, she lived her whole life behind a mask; however, quite ironically, in the year of COVID, when the whole world was behind masks, Isabella chose to unmask herself, the result of which is this book. Thus, with all due respect and nothing to dislike about her bold journey, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Unmasked is a memoir for those who like reading stories that compel them to think, like it did for me. It sure is a slightly dark read, but if you’re up for it and want to read something strong and bold, then this is the book I would most certainly recommend.
******
Unmasked
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Health is a Habit by Julie S. Massey
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Anozie Stephanie
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- Latest Review: Creative Destruction by Alastair Bowman
Life have showed people different aspects and different views, how one perceives life isn't same with another, I'm glad the author was able to share her experience of life.
Latest Review: Creative Destruction by Alastair Bowman
