"A young girl is perched on the cold chrome of yet another doctor´s examining table, missing yet another day of school. Just twelve, she´s tall, skinny and weak. Her mother, on the other hand, seems curiously excited. She´s about to suggest open heart surgery on her child to ´get to the bottom of this´. She checks her teeth for lipstick and, as the doctor enters, shoots the girl a warning glance. This child will not ruin her plans.

From early childhood, Julie Gregory was continually X-rayed, medicated and operated on in the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother´s mind: Munchausen by Proxy, the world´s most hidden and dangerous form of child abuse. Sickened is her story."

Found this book at Ekolo in Jyväskylä. I have heard about this Munchausen´s syndrome and I´m really looking forward to reading this book!

This book tells a terrible story of Julie Gregory whose mother suffers of Munchausen Syndrome. This was a very mind-provoking read and it´s surely worth of sharing. Gonna make a book ray of this book.

- Lukutuoli, Tampere Finland
- Kemppu, Tampere Finland
- Sumako, Kuopio Finland
- Oikku, Kuopio Finland
- Minnamaria, Tuusula Finland
- Duskiska, Turku Finland
- dutch-book, Weesp the Netherlands
- lovereddesert, Salt Lake City USA
- Romy86, Perth Australia

The bookring has started as I received the book from Margih today. Thanks! Kemppu was also interested to read this book, so she'll be the next reader for Sickened before it leaves Tampere.

Quite a shocking and horrible book indeed! I had read the first pages before I understood, that this book doesn't tell about Münchausen's syndrome but Münchausen by Proxy, which is even more unknown syndrome, I suppose.
It was sad to see, how unable the health care system was to recognize the actual problem and to help Julie. I wonder if all this could happen in Finland these days ? Could parents like Julie's really get foster kids?? Would the child welfare system be unable to see, what's going on?

This story tells about the huge loyalty of children for their parents although they would be abused by their parents. Unfortunately this book wasn't only about Münchausen by Proxy -syndrome - the parents were also otherwise really pathological personalities. I feel deep sympathy for Julie!

Thanks for sharing, Margih, this was worth reading. The bookring goes next to Kemppu.

The book is now with me. Thanks for sharing!

A horrifying story indeed, although it's easier to read it knowing that Julie Gregory survived. I had heard about Münchausen's syndrome and Münchausen by Proxy in the TV series House, M.D., which is fiction, but worked as an introduction to these syndromes. This book is thoughtprovoking and makes one ask questions. Lukutuoli already asked many that I would have asked too. In the book we can see how the abuse didn't just begin with Julie's mother, but was already a long chain in their family history. It's good to know that Julie was able to break the chain and stop the abuse from continuing. As we can see, it must have been really difficult, because children do tend to love their parents no matter what. Because of the child's loyalty and true belief that there is something wrong with her (him) and the proprietor's clever lies it must also be difficult for the medical, school and child care people to recognise MBP or bad parenting in general. Still it seemed unbelievable that nobody noticed what was really wrong with Julie, nobody asked if she ate properly, and that they gave her mother all the foster children and veterans (and horses and dogs). However, I have read several stories about "problem children" in America, both true stories and fiction, and it seems to me that almost anyone can be a foster parent and that very often they're not suitable to be a parent at all. At least this was before the 21st century. I really hope the situation has improved.
The book goes to sumako next.

The book is on its way to sumako.

Thank you! I'll read this next.

Horrible story of white trash and insane parents. It's almost a miracle that Julie has survived all. (Miracle has nothing to do with that fairy-tale creature, called god.) I just can't stand these hypocritical believers, who abuses those whom they should protect. And do many other shitty things. With that kind of life, I would like to be like the brother: wouldn't want to remember anything from my childhood.

Goes next to Oikku.

Recieved the book today. Thank you, Sumako!

A shocking, yet amazing story of a cruel mother and mentally challenged father and the children in the middle of them -trying to settle things down and keep the every-day life as stable as they could. Endless visits to the doctors' offices and hospitals let young Julie grow up to believe she was really sick, while it was her mother all the time encouraging her to exaggerate her symptoms and looking for more and more physical examinations, even really painful and frightening ones, to be performed on her daughter. Teen-aged Julie trying to stop the very same mother from self-harming or even shooting herself after numerous fights with the dad. Veterans and foster children taken to the unstable family household.... This story is far too sad to be true. But as we know, it is.
Thank you for this book ring, Margih! I'm forwarding the book to Minnamaria.

Received the book today! Thank You Oikku! :)

A terrible and shocking book to read! How can parents be like that? How anyone didn't notice anything wrong with the situation of Julie and her mother?
A sad true story, I'm glad Julie stayed alive!
Thank you for the bookring Margih!

Going to Duskiska next.

The book is here. Thank you!

What a sad story. People get broken as children and later break their own children in turn. It had to take a huge amount of courage and will for Julie not to start acting like her mother and instead write this book and try to save the foster children.

Reading this made me think about how the way people see themselves is shaped by what others tell them. There was just this week a story in the news about how women drivers' self-confidence drops if someone criticizes their driving skills and therefore they start driving worse. They become bad drivers because the environment leads them to believe they are. So it's not just about how our parents shape our sense of self, it happens every day. I also got to thinking about how I want to raise my own children (if I have any, that is). It also gave good insight on how demeaning the health care system can be. Very thought-provoking indeed.

I don't read memoirs that much so I'm having some trouble commenting on this as a piece of literature. Therefore I won't give it any stars. I did like reading it though. The only thing that bothered me was that on some occasions Julie didn't tell enough about the consequenses of what happened. The wet t-shirt contest for instance. I was hoping to hear if it influenced her relationship with her dad (I mean, eww) and if it affected her body image or if she became more protective of her own body. That incidence was strangely detached from the rest of the story.

Ps. Sorry if my English is terrible. I just woke up and feel like my head is full of cotton. My morning coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

Sending today to dutch-book.

Arrived yesterday. I probably will have to read this slow. Since I have a child, I can't stomach those stories that good anymore.

Did finish it a while ago. I found it interesting although I didn't get some of the choices Julie made. Couldn't get into contact with lovereddessert, so have decided to send to Romy86.

Sent off to Romy86. Sorry for the huge delay.

Arrived safely today. Will probably be about a week before I can start reading it. Thanks for sending!

What a horrible mother!! This is a really sad story and even more horrifying that its true. I had heard of this syndrome before, so I was interested to read this.
I can't even imagine having to go through what Julie went through.
I don't have much else to add. Others have said it better on this thread.
This was well worth the read. It's good that this is getting out and making people (doctors) aware. Hopefully with better understanding this can be stamped out. Obviously the mother was mentally ill to do such awful things. For sure mental illness also needs to be addressed.
Looks like I am the last in this ray, and probably just as well, as this little book has started to fall apart quite badly and has loose pages. All the same, I will try to find at least one more reader for it.

Glad to finally move this along, hope it finds a few more readers after having already travelled a fair bit!

This one arrived in a book bag from romy86, I didn't intend to catch it as I have already read it, but I couldn't quite fit all the books in to the bag that I am sending on to Billbooks so will hold this one back and release it at the next Templstowe meet-up as it is a well written, although somwhat confronting read.

Tobe released at Saturday's meet-up.

To the finder of this book -
Please let me know it is safe hands by journalling that you have caught it, you are under no obligation to read it and Bookcrossing is completely anonymous.