Official Review: Love's The Only House by Debra Godsee

[Kibet Hillary]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Love's The Only House" by Debra Godsee.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Love’s The Only House by Debra Godsee is an autobiography. The book details the life of the author since childhood and the events that led to her estrangement from her three sons. It contains approximately 100 pages and has been divided into thirteen chapters. The first part of the book entails a description of the life of the author since childhood until marriage. The second part consists of several letters to her sons.

The book opens with a plethora of questions as the author begins narrating her childhood memories. She reveals the pleasant memories that filled her childhood. Eventually, she got married, and they had three sons with her first husband. She began noticing strange behaviors in her sons one day and suspected that they were being abused. There was a lot of air of uncertainty that developed when the author began observing the signs of sexual abuse. Her children feared to stay at home and would prefer going to the park. The home was no longer safe without their mum. How was she going to prove her fears? Would the culprit be brought to book?

I enjoyed the first chapters of the book immensely as they helped to substantiate the fact that children possess powerful memories. I was led down memory lane to my early childhood years as well as I tried recalling some notable and unforgettable experiences. I also liked the letters she wrote to her sons. They were very emotional. They revealed the heart of a mother who cherishes her children very much but cannot reach them due to restrictions placed on her. However, she has not given up and still hopes to meet them one day. I hope they will meet.

The book addresses many themes. The most prominent one was care for children. Many people do not recognize the ability of a child to remember events right from birth to the age of five years. Physical protection is normally emphasized over psychological care during the early years. In this book, the author cautions parents and guardians against undermining the memory of a child aged five or younger. The author proves a young child can remember a lot of things that happen during childhood by narrating her own experiences. The other themes are family, love, trust, and reconciliation.

What I liked most in the book was the courage of the author to recount her own experiences with the aim of helping others. Her love for her children is equally great. On the other hand, the book had several grammatical flaws that included overuse of the comma. The errors can be eliminated if another round of editing is done. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because of the grammatical errors. I recommend it to readers who love autobiographies. The book contains explicit content as the author describes reasons why she suspected her sons were being abused. Therefore, I do not recommend it to young readers.

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Love's The Only House
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[Agnes Masobeng]

Even before I thought of reading this review the title of the book caught my eye. And the review overwhelmed my entire being: abuse isn't the nicest thing. Infact I am totally agaisnt it.

[kdstrack]

This would be a difficult situation to confront. I agree that it took courage to write her story and admire her desire to help others identify and avoid the pain she has lived through. Thanks for this compelling review.

[mmm17]

I have heard doctors say that children do somehow remember events that happened to them right from birth. They may not always be aware of these events, but they have an unconscious impact. Your review is wonderfully written. Thanks!

[Cecilia_L]

The book addresses many themes. The most prominent one was care for children. Many people do not recognize the ability of a child to remember events right from birth to the age of five years. Physical protection is normally emphasized over psychological care during the early years. In this book, the author cautions parents and guardians against undermining the memory of a child aged five or younger. The author proves a young child can remember a lot of things that happen during childhood by narrating her own experiences. The other themes are family, love, trust, and reconciliation.

This is such an excellent point. I enjoyed your interesting review.

[Dawud Adaviruku]

I love this type of autobiography stories. I can probably imagine how difficult it must have been for the mother to live without her children. I will check it out to know more. Great review you have written here.

[Connie Otwani]

I hope the children were saved from the abuse. Sounds like an intense read. Great review!

[gen_g]

It's always a pity about editing errors; still, this definitely doesn't seem like a light read. I hope that the children are doing fine now. Awesome review!

[Jlbaird85]

Thank you for the review. It sounds like it is an intense read. The struggle she went through thinking her boys had been abused must have weighed heavily on her heart. I hope everyone got some help!

[juliusotieno02]

Looks like a good book for proper upbringing of kids. I like your elaborate review especialy the inclussion of themes found in the book. Thanks for the review.

[Fazzier]

I like the fact that the book points out that children posses powerful memory. This is important in making adults to avoid acts that can be debilitating to children in their future lives. Thank you for this wonderful review!

[EvaDar]

It is so true that we remember more than we think from our very young years. And if we don't remember it cognitively, our bodies remember. This sounds like a deep and meaningful exploration of a mother and her concern for her children. Thank you for the thorough and balanced review.

[Kibet Hillary]

It's always a pity about editing errors; still, this definitely doesn't seem like a light read. I hope that the children are doing fine now. Awesome review!

The errors are normally such a nuisance. The worst part is when they are many such that almost every page has multiple of them. The book is good though and I hope you will consider reading it.

[unamilagra]

This sounds like an interesting and emotional autobiography that every parent can take something from. You did a great job of reviewing the strengths of the book.

[Prisallen]

This sounds like a very poignant book to read. It has to be hard on a parent to discover that their child is being abused. I would like to know why she is restricted against having contact with them. Was she accused of not taking good care of them? Thank you for a great review!