Brief

The true story of what happens when a so-called perfect mother and businesswoman is forced to find reckoning with her past and build a future based on the authenticity she has always sought. The past Emmy needs to confront is of sexual abuse because it's not only the core of what triggers her destructive behavior, but part of the problem is society's inability to openly discuss it.

What We Liked

- The story is not only interesting, but it is also necessary. It talks about an ugly truth: rape is not only present in our culture, but our incapability of admitting the problem and embracing the victims is just as abusive. It's hard to see the ugly truth laid out in front of our eyes, but it's rewarding to learn about someone who was courageous and strong enough to identify the wound and heal. Its message is encouraging to so many others with similar past, and it's eye-opening to those who are still unaware.
- Key points: Relevant thematic; Based on a true story; The happy ending; Relatable and smart protagonist; It can help others in similar situations;

Synopsis

Emily's life is as normal as any girl's in Montana: she lives with her parents and older brother, goes to school and has friends, and plays the flute. But one summer, at music camp, when she's only 12, Emmy is sexually abused by a grown-up camp counselor. Afraid she'll get hurt if she tells the truth, ashamed of what happened, and not wanting to make her parents feel guilty, Emmy decides to never tell anyone her terrible secret.

But the weight of hiding such a thing changes her. Having gone through puberty, Emmy begins to attract the schoolboys' attention and soon she begins to date. Associating her social status to her beauty, Emily develops an eating disorder. In High School, Emily is introduced to drinking and sex and soon starts to abuse them. She becomes a social pariah after sleeping with multiple boys, including her friends' boyfriends, and only settles down when she meets Craig, her first boyfriend. She graduates school with success but in college, and away from Craig, Emmy relapses into hard drinking and partying. Constantly getting drunk and blacking-out, Emmy gets caught stealing from the clothing store she works at and gets arrested. Isolated from her friends once more, Emmy gets involved in an unhealthy sexual relationship with two friends, and when another student rapes her, she decides to move away to California and start fresh.

Emily's new beginning fails when she meets and dates rich guy Julian, and soon partying, drinking, and now drug use becomes her routine. Emily hides her eating disorder from everyone, but her unhealthy lifestyle takes its toll; she develops an autoimmune disease but doesn't take the medication properly because it makes her gain weight. After she is caught in her lies, she, again, loses her group of friends and gets involved with a married teacher's assistant. Constantly drunk and severely underweight, Emily is taken by her sorority sisters to a clinic and her parents are called. To the doctor, Emmy admits to having been sexually abused but denies talking about it. Convinced by her parents, she moves back to their house, now in Oregon, and starts over again, this time with therapy. Doing much better, Emmy finishes school, gets a job, and eventually moves to Portland, where she meets Kale. They fall in love and begin a relationship; ashamed of her past and haunted by the fear that Kale is too good for her, Emily hides everything from him; they get pregnant with the first of five kids. On antidepressant medication, and unable to drink because of the pregnancies, Emmy gets her life under control. She befriends Erin, another mom who becomes Emily's confidant and to whom she finally admits to having been raped. Things seem to go well for the couple, especially online where Emmy pretends to have a perfect life, until Emmy starts drinking again; to make things worse, Erin dies of cancer. With the alcohol, the partying lifestyle comes back too, and, with Kale constantly working late hours, Emily begins an affair. Kale finds out and to save their marriage, they begin marriage counseling. On therapy and on the verge of losing Kale, Emily finally admits to her whole past but still denies connecting her bad-decision making to alcohol consumption and when she fails again to be ""normal"", she attempts to end her life but Kale calls 911 on time. On her path to recovering, Emily finally realizes the alcoholism she was so intently denying has pulled her out of her husband's and children's life and if she doesn't change, they will move on without her. So Emily accepts she needs to heal.

Emily courageously faces her past, joins AA, and seeks sobriety; by addressing her past wounds, she begins to self-heal, reconnects with her family, and reencounters her long-lost self-respect and love. Emily shares her true story on social media and becomes an inspiration to her community and the world.

About The Author

Emily Lynn Paulson writes her own story with deep honesty and her technical knowledge of sexual abuse, eating disorder, and alcoholism gives the context foundation and credibility. The way she depicts her own experience paints a clear image in the reader's head, allowing the book to be easily adapted to a visual platform.