At thirty-six years old, Caitlin Myer is ready to start a family with her husband. She has left behind the restrictive confines of her Mormon upbringing and early sexual trauma and believes she is now living her happily ever after . . . when her body betrays her. In a single week, she suffers the twin losses of a hysterectomy and the death of her mother, and she is jolted into a terrible awakening that forces her to reckon with her past—and future.
 
This is the story of one woman’s lifelong combat with a culture—her “escape” from religion at age twenty, only to find herself similarly entrapped in the gender conventions of the secular culture at large, conventions that teach girls and women to shape themselves to please men, to become good wives and mothers. The biblical characters Yael and Judith, wives who became assassins, become her totems as she evolves from wifely submission to warrior independence.

My Thoughts:

After being asked to read and review this book I wasn’t too sure what to expect. There is a lot of issues that are in this story involving religion, mental health illness, trauma, relationships and sex. Even though there is a lot packed into this book it is set out well, it is quite hard hitting what Caitlin has had to go through I felt every emotion reading this book, I felt as though she must get a break soon but the strength and bravery of her made her who she is today and allowed us as readers to experience what she had to go through. I felt as though I was on her journey with her. A very brave woman to write her memoir.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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