The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke

BATB score: 5/10 🤨

reader discretion advised: a 21st century memoir to family YouTube channel sensation, influencer monetization, zero children’s privacy, staged content, and cancel culture

Best to: a perfect family life on-camera exposed by your eldest daughter; kudos to sissy for writing this memoir to save-ish her younger siblings

BATB lingering thought: written by a 21-year-old, a memoir that’s quite eloquent, great chapter structure, good use of advanced English vocabulary, captivating story flow *clap clap clap*

Best as: well, no family is perfect, all parents are first-time parents with learn-on-the-job roles, entitlement, depending on the culture, religion / cult as life mantra; yet, where do we draw the line?

Best for: first and foremost check out “8 Passengers” Youtube Channel or Ruby Franke true crime case - side note, 2.5 million subscribers and over 1 billion views kudos to Ruby Franke aka Mother for business entrepreneurship, content creativity, and money-making acumen

Best quotes: “No child should ever have to earn a parent’s affection. And no amount of achievement can ever fill the void where unconditional love should be.”

“A cautionary tale of what happens when the line between authenticity and performance becomes blurred beyond recognition”

“The absurdity of it all - my mother playing the victim card while holding all the cards.”

“Sometimes, family isn’t just what you’re born into - it’s also what you build in the aftermath of loss.”

“Fight, flight, and freeze as trauma response. But there’s a fourth - fawn. It’s when a person tries to please or appease their abuser to avoid conflict or further harm.”