Official Review: Something From Nothing by Anthony Lemons

[zoedecicco]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Something From Nothing" by Anthony Lemons.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Put simply, this short book is a memoir of the author’s abusive childhood. He states that, through it, he wants to give hope to children who are being abused, and inform more people about the abuse of children in America.

The majority of the book is comprised of descriptions of abusive incidents. You can feel the pain in the author’s words as he forces the stories out of his heart and onto the paper. The level of emotional and physical abuse that he and his siblings have suffered is truly disturbing, and at times it feels so personal that you almost feel ashamed to be reading.

The children are neglected to the point that they forage in their neighbor’s garden, and collect eels from the river, just to stay alive. There is a particularly horrific scenario where one of the brothers is intentionally trapped in a bathroom with a vicious dog.

Their mother suffers from mental illness, and she is consistently abusive, despite her mental state being tackled by the authorities at one point. We are shown that it is not just direct abuse that we need to be aware of, but also the negligence of ‘experts’, such as the education system, police, and social workers. There are many missed opportunities for these establishments to stop the violence.

Unfortunately, despite this being a honest and interesting account of abuse, the author has got so carried away with the catharsis of writing, that he appears to have failed to glance back over his words: was it too painful for him to reread?

I’m being kind in attempting to rationalize the terrible spelling, punctuation and grammar in this book: the text is full of typos and many words are missing altogether. There are sections of repeated text, like a series of cut and paste jobs gone wrong. I’m disappointed that this number of errors can exist in a published (albeit self-published) book.

I understand that the book is a memoir, and a first-hand account, so we can perhaps allow the writing style to be a little less polished, but there are an objectionable number of blunders, many of which would easily have been spotted had the text even been quickly scanned over.

The author makes the important point that despite him not being a professional, such as a counselor, his view on abuse is just as valid (if not more so), as he has lived through it. I am very much inclined to agree with this statement. This book is an authentic account of abuse; and it is for that reason that I have awarded this book two out of four stars, and not just one. Despite the writing being basic, and the proof reading pretty non-existent, I think this book has legitimacy as a document of abuse.

It is also not just a collection of painful stories, or simply a personal journal, with no real purpose. The author rounds off his experiences with words of advice for both children being abused, and for adults who are abusers. He speaks directly to them about how to get help, and how to deal with the difficult feelings they may be having, such as guilt. It could therefore conceivably be very useful for some readers.

In summary, the book is intended to help those in abusive situations by showing them they are not alone, and that there is hope. It certainly may have potential in this area. Unfortunately this is solely where its value lies as a text, however, and I would not, for any other reason, recommend it.

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[Skillian]

That is a shame about the lack of proofreading and editing.... but the intent of the book sounds great. I may still consider this since the experiences and advice themselves hold so much value. Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review!

[Himmelslicht]

Amazing review. Really, I thought that proofreading was an obligation by now.
Thanks for sharing your opinion with us

[zoedecicco]

Thanks Himmelslicht and Skillian - so far ALL of the e-books I've reviewed have had typos and proofing errors. I feel a possible job opportunity opening up here.... lol