Official Review: Behind Closed Doors: A Daughter's Story

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 09 Apr 2018, 11:32

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Behind Closed Doors: A Daughter's Story" by Daniella DeChristopher.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Behind Closed Doors: A Daughter’s Story by Daniella DeChristopher is a biography/autobiography that I will not soon forget. DeChristopher shares the bitter-sweet story of her mother’s and her own life with such candor that I was teary-eyed several times as I read this book.

Josie, the author’s mother got pregnant with her at 16 years old in 1949. Her family, being Italian and Catholic, viewed this as a huge disgrace. Consequently, she was kicked out of the family home and forced to marry the father of the child, Nicki Demetrios. Nickie was a ‘bad seed’ to say the least and Josie soon divorced him. Now she had a baby, no high-school diploma, no family support and no place to live. These factors greatly influenced her and her daughter’s life. Daniella, grew up moving from house to house, sometimes seemingly abandoned by her mother. How did this affect her? Can the author find happiness after such a troubled childhood? This book will answer these questions, as well as teach or remind the reader of other valuable lessons.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a little under 300 pages and is composed of a brief Introduction, 26 chapters, an About the Author page and an acknowledgement page. It is notable that in the About the Author page, DeChristopher takes the time to summarize some of the lessons she has learnt in her pursuit of happiness. I was not able to find any distracting grammatical errors to complain about. I was elated that the font size was comfortable enough for me to read without having to zoom in on the pages. There was only one instance where I noted that the book could have made use of a formatting technique such as a partition or a different font to separate a daydream from actual events in the story. I think that some readers might take a while to discern whether that scene I am referring to is a daydream or not.

Also, the writing style was more tell than show but the author was able to make this work out because her tone appealed to my emotions (as I mentioned before, I was teary-eyed a couple of times). The author did an amazing job making all the characters very life-like. I was able to connect with persons that appeared for only a few pages in the book.

In conclusion, I rate Behind Closed Doors 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in biographical/ autobiographical stories.

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Behind Closed Doors: A Daughter's Story
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Bigirimana Celestin · Post by **Bigirimana Celestin** » 10 Apr 2018, 02:36

Also, the writing style was more tell than show but the author was able to make this work out because her tone appealed to my emotions (as I mentioned before, I was teary-eyed a couple of times)

For that i think this book is more important to anyone. Thank you for your review.

Bushrara · Post by **Bushrara** » 10 Apr 2018, 06:56

Wow sach an amazing and inspiring story

Post by **kandscreeley** » 10 Apr 2018, 07:47

This does sound like an emotional read. I'm not sure I'm ready for this one right now, but I'm glad that you were able to enjoy it. I'll keep it in mind for the future.

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 10 Apr 2018, 10:17

bigirimanacelestin wrote: ↑10 Apr 2018, 02:36
Also, the writing style was more tell than show but the author was able to make this work out because her tone appealed to my emotions (as I mentioned before, I was teary-eyed a couple of times)
For that i think this book is more important to anyone. Thank you for your review.

Thanks for the comment. I totally agree with you. I am a fan of literature that makes use of colourful literary devices but this one did an awesome job without all of that.

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 10 Apr 2018, 10:18

Bushrara wrote: ↑10 Apr 2018, 06:56 Wow sach an amazing and inspiring story

Thanks for reading and commenting. Yes, it is very inspiring.

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 10 Apr 2018, 10:19

kandscreeley wrote: ↑10 Apr 2018, 07:47 This does sound like an emotional read. I'm not sure I'm ready for this one right now, but I'm glad that you were able to enjoy it. I'll keep it in mind for the future.

Thanks for reading and commenting Kandscreeley. I hope you get around to it someday.

Post by **Mr Benj** » 10 Apr 2018, 10:55

16 year old ,pregnant! That's quite a young age.
There is really something behind the close doors.

Yours sincerely,
Mr Benji.

Laura Ungureanu · Post by **Laura Ungureanu** » 10 Apr 2018, 11:11

If a book has a child in the middle of the story, I will love it. She will of course be troubled by her parents' conflict and I like to see how she deals with it.

cpru68 · Post by **cpru68** » 10 Apr 2018, 14:10

I absolutely love books of this nature because it gives one good insight to the struggles that many have faced in our world, and also gives the reader a chance to be grateful beyond measure for what we do have. It sounds from your review that the author was able to convey the story to touch your heart, and that is a sign of a good writer. I think this one is getting added to my bookshelf as a want to read. Thank you for your insightful review.

stacie k · Post by **stacie k** » 10 Apr 2018, 14:27

A pregnant teenager in 1949 in an Italian, Catholic home was sure to create an uproar. I feel for both the mother and daughter, and I haven't even read the book yet. I enjoy biographies, as there is so much to learn from an individual's experiences even if we never get the opportunity to meet in person. I'll have to be prepared with my tissues for an emotionally moving story such as this one. Thank you for your review!

Chioma sunday · Post by **Chioma sunday** » 10 Apr 2018, 15:03

This is indeed a sad touching story. Even I haven't read the full story yet,I feel this is just like a tip of an ice berg.well done!

BriennaiJ · Post by **BriennaiJ** » 10 Apr 2018, 15:32

This is definitely an interesting story. I feel so bad for both the mother and the daughter. I will have to check this one out!

Oceanside · Post by **Oceanside** » 10 Apr 2018, 16:48

I like that you were able to connect with the characters. Even though you said it was more of a tell than show kind of story, I think connecting with the characters is very important.