Review of Love's The Only House

[Vivian Stones]

[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 is a non-fictional autobiography written by Debra Godsee. This book has thirteen chapters. It describes the author’s life from her earliest childhood memories, through motherhood, to painful circumstances that forced her to be alienated from her children. The book details her experiences, misconceptions, mistakes, and trials to serve as a cautionary tale to mothers and wives.

The book begins with Debra talking of her earliest memory with her mother and horses. She goes on to describe her childhood, with her father becoming a pastor and later owning a bakery in Georgia. She narrated the birth of her brother and the wonderful times she had playing with him and her parents. She also described her teenage years, meeting her best friend, joining the town’s swim team, and her very first job. However, problems at their church, as well as obligations from her grandparents, force the family to move to New England. The move sparked rebellious behavior and ill-advised decisions that ultimately led to her marriage. She goes on to have children, but what causes her separation from them? Does she ever get them back? Find out in this book.

The book has a lot of positives to it. It does well to explore the issue of child abuse, giving first-hand experience, citing mistakes the author made, as well as advice on what to do if child abuse is suspected. The book also highlighted the flaws in the American judicial system as regards protecting vulnerable people like her and her kids. I also liked her poem about life in the last part of the book. It described the struggle every living being faces and was in sync with the theme of the book. I also appreciate the book's moderate length and the author's attempt to convey the subject of abuse in a manner that does not lose its importance at the same time and does not trigger the reader.

The book does have its negative aspects. The author does not give a name or an alias to anyone apart from her children and Pretio. This, along with her choice of language, makes the book slightly difficult to follow at certain points. For instance, up until the eleventh chapter, Debra wrote in the past tense. Then, in the twelfth chapter, she wrote in the present tense even when the events had passed.

I found a host of errors in this book; it was not professionally edited. For this reason, I would deduct a star from my rating. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The negative aspects of the book do not take away its compelling nature and the importance of its story; as a result, I cannot remove any more stars from my rating. I recommend this book, particularly to women and mothers in abusive relationships, in hopes that they find solace and maybe, direction in it.

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Love's The Only House
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[Aisha Yakub]

Hopefully, females in abusive relationships can find solace in reading this book. Great review.

[Ceeco2002]

It'd be nice following Debra on her journey from childhood to adulthood, and learning from her mistakes. Nice review!