I can't remember where I first saw this book, but I knew I wanted to read it. As a child, who spent some time in hospital and went to yearly check-ups due to health problems I was born with, I really can't understand mothers who make their children go through that all unnecessary. Maybe this books gives me an answer to my question WHY?

Synopsis:
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 theet 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.

Paperback, 305 pages. Published in 2004 by Arrow Books.

That was sad, sad, sad. Yes, it gave me an answer why. I'm lucky to have had moderately happy childhood that has made me (moderately) sane person in my adulthood. I've done my growing up and been to depths of "who am I, why am I and where did I come from?", but in Julie's case the process was longer. The lost childhood part made sense as she had to rebirth herself again in her twenties.

The story made me rage about it to all my friends and thank my mom for being such a good parent. Sometimes I felt like crying, nobody deserves to live like that. What saddened me was how she sort of understood that what her mom was doing was somehow wrong but after all she was a scared child who wasn't listened and who was outwitted by her mom.

It was also interesting in the heart condition point of view as I could really relate to it (been there, done that): that was easy to read as I understood the procedures but at the same time hard as I knew exactly what she was going through. I just want to point out that my chest has never been shaved. ;)

Now this is a book I definitely recommend!

Will be released at local meeting.

*****
Onnea, olet löytänyt vapauttamani kirjan! Se on nyt sinun - voit pitää sen, antaa tuttavallesi tai vapauttaa edelleen. Kiitos kun ilmoitit löytäneesi kirjan! Mikäli haluat, olet tervetullut liittymään Bookcrossing.comiin. :)

Congratulations, you've found a book I released in the wild. It's yours now - you can keep it, give to someone you now or release it back in the wild. Thank you for letting me know you've found it! If you want, you're welcome to join Bookcrossing.com. :)

Picked this up from the Helsinki area BC meetup. I have the book in my TBR pile in Swedish but when I saw this, I decided I'd much rather read it in English.

Wow, this book was depressing! I'm not going to rate this as that just feels wrong. The book was interestingly written but it made me so sad! I can't believe all the things the poor girl went through. And it's not just the MBP, either. It seems that the whole family has problems with mental health and Julie had to survive so many different types of abuse. I guess these things tend to pile up in certain families.

I would have liked to know more about the ending and what happened then. I googled the author and found that she has also written another book, about living with a scitzophrenic father.

I'll take the book with me to the Helsinki area bookcrossing meetup today.

I've seen this book going around at Bc meets, and last time picked it up. MBP is scary and sad, yes, and Julie's childhood was messed up in other ways, too, but I wasn't much impressed by the writing. "Let's get to the bottom of this" might never sound the same, though.

Thanks for sharing! To be released.

I probably have left this book on the recycling shelf close to the entrance of Kirjasto 10. "Probably" as I only know the book was with me at a BC-Helsinki meet some time in March, and this is what would usually happen if nobody picked it up there.

This is a reconstruction of events - I wouldn't know even this much if a fellow bookcrosser hadn't asked for the book. Sorry!