The Family Liar

This is a beautifully written look inside a deeply dysfunctional family.

The story is told so vividly from the child’s perspective that you genuinely feel the weight of growing up with emotionally immature, narcissistic parents. The constant invalidation, the isolation, the slow erosion of a child’s sense of self. It’s heartbreaking in the best way a book can be.

I won’t be leaving a star rating, I don’t usually rate memoirs. Finding out at the end that this is the author’s own lived experience. But if you like well written, family and resilience stories this book would be for you.

If you’ve ever wanted to understand the long shadow that damaged parenting casts on a child, read this one.

Received a copy via giveaway, all show more opinions my own. show less

2.5 stars. I won this book in a giveaway. I recognize that it’s a fictionalized version of the author’s life, but as a novel, it didn’t work for me. It was all tell and no show, and in addition to that, the reader is instructed how to feel about what they have just read. It came off more like a recitation of events than the telling of a story. While it was a detailed account of a dysfunctional family and toxic relationships, I didn’t feel like the characters were fully developed and therefore very relatable.

Not my cup of tea. It is a dry chronological enumeration of facts from Nathalie's life (and a bit of backstory). No empathy to be found for the main character or other characters. A pity... finishing this book is a waste of time for me. It might appeal to other readers, so no rating. Handsome cover!