The Long Journey Home: A Memoir (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Man, such a sad story of this womans' life. I finished the book to guage the impact of her life (psychotic - sexually exploited, and from an unloving childhood) on those around her - what I deducted was mostly very negative. Her comments at the end chapters makes me wonder if she really has recovered from her many, many mental breakdowns as others who remember things tell an entirely different story from how her memoir is written.....I will probably read their memoirs to see how they tell their story from their viewpoint. They probably did this on purpose!!!! :-) After reading "Look Me In the Eye" by John Elder Robison and then "Running with Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs (and becoming a major fan of Burroughs and his other books), how could I NOT read "The Long Journey Home: A Memoir" by Margaret Robison? After reading this memoir, it is apparent why Burroughs stopped speaking with his mother after he wrote "Running with Scissors" and slammed her "turn" at telling their story. Ms. Robison is so obviously playing the victim in this, while conveniently inserting some of her awful poetry. While she isn't a terrible writer, she tells her own, somewhat insignificant, story and downplays her role in leaving her youngest child in the care of a very dysfunctional family while glossing over gruesome details. It was difficult to take seriously. When she suffers a massive stroke late in life, it is difficult to feel any empathy. Augusten Burroughs is the true hero in this book (and HIS books), breaking through as a resilient individual through his crazy childhood and personal demons as an adult. Shame on Ms. Robison for trying to cash in on his success.
What do You think about The Long Journey Home: A Memoir (2011)?
disappointed that she did not address her son's version of their life more specifically.
—madhuridutta
Did not finish the book. Rarely does this happen but I could not get through it.
—ShaylynneH
