Dark Confessions of an Extraordinary, Ordinary Woman follows the author on her journey from a drug-addicted thief who felt trapped in an abusive relationship to a confident and capable marathon-runner. It is filled with intense drama, troubled romance, and all sorts of dirty little secrets.
My Thoughts
I am not often presented with a non-fiction story for review, and interestingly enough, memoirs are my favorites. Often told in first person perspective, reading memoirs gives the feeling that you are sitting down with a friend. Dark Confessions of An Extraordinary, Ordinary Woman did not disappoint.
Some memoirs are a bit pretentious, but this biography was written cleverly. The author worded her memoir in a way that made the narrative flow naturally. This book wasn’t an “easy read” due to the tough subject matter of domestic violence, but it was easy to get through, as the author followed her own timeline of events, and rarely strayed off topic.
“It all started with a rough arm squeeze that I should have never forgiven.”
The author details how her childhood conditioned her to accept a dysfunctional relationship, and how she let her boyfriend dictate her self-worth, like many other women who are in abusive, unhealthy relationships. She later describes how she was able to find herself, and move forward with her life, after letting go of the people who held her back. Relating her life to a marathon, Author Jenn Sadai reaches her goals, one step at a time.
“One foot in front of the other, I kept moving forward until I crossed the finish line. I accomplished my goal one step at a time.”
(One thing I have to mention, because it is driving me crazy, is that the author mentioned in chapter 7 having a $3000 a day marijuana habit. I really hope that was a typo, or that I misunderstood… I don’t even know how it is possible to smoke that much weed in a day, never mind be able to attain that much. Even if it was $300 a day, that is still very hard to believe. $3000 a day would be approximately 30 oz., assuming it is mid-grade. Picture 30 ziploc bags filled to the brim, a day! HOW?!)
All in all, I did enjoy reading this memoir, and I would recommend it because of it’s ease of reading, and the powerful, inspirational message to women. This woman’s story is a testament to the power of self-forgiveness, and believing in oneself. I believe she has the power to reach out and change a struggling woman’s life with her story, and for that, she deserves 5 stars. 🙂
***I received a copy of this book from the author, in exchange for a thoughtful, fair, and honest book review. This in no way swayed my opinion or rating.***
Purchase
Thank you for the review! It wasn’t a typo, just a poorly linked intro into the story of how I crashed my car rolling a joint, which cost me $3000. I also agree that my book is priced to high for the length. It was selling well around $2-3 and then amazon increased it. I don’t have control over price. Thanks again! Your review made my day.
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Ah ha…. Gotcha! That’s what I thought at first too, that it had to do with crashing your Ford Focus. But then you mentioned getting $16,000+ back from the insurance, so I thought… nope, can’t be that. Lol… Thanks for clearing that up! Holy moly, I was flabbergasted! And that is awful about Amazon. I didn’t realize that they dictated the prices! That’s a shame.
I’m glad my review made your day. I truly enjoyed your book!
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I should have explained it better in the story. The car cost me a little over $19,000 when I bought it a few months prior and I only got back $16,000+ from insurance. The money I lost was due to the depreciation value. As a writer, I need to remember that the reader can’t get inside my head and I need to be as clear as possible. Another valuable learning experience! Thanks again April. It’s obvious you’re a talented writer as well, which makes the review mean even more to me!
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Oh, that is so kind of you to say. Thank you so much. That means a lot!! 🙂
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Never mind the over-priced weed, are you on ‘speed’ right now? The reviews are coming thick and fast these days. I did laugh at your calculations of how much she’d have to get thorugh a day to spend that much money. Either a typo or she meant heroin.
Leaving that aside, it sounds like an interesting read – though horrendously expensive for such a short book.
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LMAO!!! SPEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are so funny, Mary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m dying over here!!!
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Glad I made you laugh! We need some laughter in our lives 🙂
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Yes, we do! And I’m STILL laughing! LOL!
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