“Safe from the Past” review
by V.E. on July 26th, 2011
filed under recap/review
Safe from the Past: A Story of
Hope, Faith and Determination
By Patricia Miller Mauro
The P3 Press
28 September 2010
I read Safe from the Past by Patricia Miller Mauro in less than three hours in one sitting; it’s less that 140 pages and it’s written in an easily followed conversational style. That is, it’s as though the author is sitting in the room with you telling her story: down-to-earth, no unintelligible words, and the story is interesting enough to keep reading.
I think, though, that the book’s description is a little misleading; I expected the story to be more about the “kidnapping, the divorce of her parents, the loss of her father, temporary abandonment[,] and extreme poverty”… If Safe from the Past is truly about any of those things, it’s most definitely the last one. When it comes to the big things, I probably have more in common with Mauro’s freshman year roommate than I do with Mauro herself: my mother cried when she and my brother moved me into my dorm room, I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to pay to tuition, I always had enough clothing and food, and I was always welcome home. That said, I didn’t have parents who could afford to send me a blank check every month for me to fill in to buy whatever I needed. I did have to worry about how I was going to pay for my own books, and I had to get a job and help pay for my expenses. I never owned a car, I never owned any designer clothing, I never went on expensive vacations during the school breaks, and I never went shopping just for fun. (Actually, I still don’t do any of those things.)
The main problem I have with Safe from the Past is that I didn’t feel as much empathy for the characters as I think I probably should’ve. It wasn’t heart wrenching; it was like I was reading through a distorted lens, or at arms length. The narrative didn’t pull me in and make me feel for Mauro (the character and narrator) or her sister, or her mother. I was a little ticked at the abusive stepfather, and I was sympathetic when I read about his beating Mauro’s mother, but I wasn’t outraged or sickened. And when she met her father again for the first time in years and years, I wasn’t crying with joy even though Mauro surely did when she lived it. A good memoir makes the reader live the narrator’s life, too, and unfortunately, I don’t think this book did a great job of that.
Mauro’s memoir seems like a cliffs notes version of her life for her descendants, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it inspired me to learn more about my mother’s parents, both of whom died before I was born. My mother’s mother was mentally ill, so the part of Mauro’s story about her mother’s nervous breakdown hit home for me. I commend Mauro for writing about her success story and for pulling herself out of the cycle of abuse and poverty. Even if the writing isn’t the most eloquent or inventive, the story itself is truly inspirational.
DISCLAIMER: I received Safe from the Past free from LitFuse Publicity in return for a review of the book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Read other reviews and learn more about the book on the blog tour’s main page.
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LitFuse Publicity is sponsoring a $30 Amazon.com giveaway for all bloggers who reviewed Safe from the Past and all those bloggers’ readers! That includes you all! All you have to do to enter is:
send a tweet (using #litfuse) about Safe From the Past or share about it on Facebook!
If you tweet we’ll capture your entry when you use @litfuse. If you share it on Facebook or your blog, just email us and let us know (info@litfusegroup.com). Easy.
Just a note: I’m not sure if LitFuse really wants a hashtag (# symbol) in tweets about the book or the atmark (@ symbol)—their directions are a little confusing on that point—but I recommend using both just to be safe. Tweet (and facebook) away, and good luck!
