Women We Buried, Women We Burned

A Memoir

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Pub Date 23 May 2023 | Archive Date 31 May 2023
Bloomsbury USA | Bloomsbury Publishing

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Description

Kirkus Best Nonfiction Title of 2023

"Snyder shows us how to summon the courage to imagine in a cruel and dangerous world. A beautiful book." -Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author of Rogues, Empire of Pain, and Say Nothing

"How do you remember every detail and make the reader feel like they saw, heard, and felt each moment? I have no idea, actually, but Rachel Louise Snyder has done it.” –Masha Gessen, National Book Award winning author of The Future Is History and Surviving Autocracy

"A gorgeous memoir that parses the patriarchy with an endearing frankness as fierce as it is, astonishingly, forgiving." -Beth Macy, New York Times bestselling author of Dopesick and Raising Lazarus

"The hope contained on these pages is hard won, and all the more precious due to the struggles from which it emerges.” -Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage

From the author of the groundbreaking, award-winning No Visible Bruises, a riveting memoir of survival, self-discovery, and forgiveness sure to captivate readers who loved Tara Westover's Educated and Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle.

For decades, Rachel Louise Snyder has been a fierce advocate reporting on the darkest social issues that impact women's lives. Women We Buried, Women We Burned is her own story.

Snyder was eight years old when her mother died, and her distraught father thrust the family into an evangelical, cult-like existence halfway across the country. Furiously rebellious, she was expelled from school and home at age 16. Living out of her car and relying on strangers, Rachel found herself masquerading as an adult, talking her way into college, and eventually travelling the globe.

Survival became her reporter's beat. In places like India, Tibet, and Niger, she interviewed those who had been through the unimaginable. In Cambodia, where she lived for six years, she watched a country reckon with the horrors of its own recent history. When she returned to the States with a family of her own, it was with a new perspective on old family wounds, and a chance for healing from the most unexpected place.

A piercing account of Snyder's journey from teenage runaway to reporter on the global epidemic of domestic violence, Women We Buried, Women We Burned is a memoir that embodies the transformative power of resilience.

Kirkus Best Nonfiction Title of 2023

"Snyder shows us how to summon the courage to imagine in a cruel and dangerous world. A beautiful book." -Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781635579123
PRICE $29.00 (USD)
PAGES 352

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Average rating from 46 members


Featured Reviews

I loved this book from beginning to end. The writing itself is lovely and easy to get lost in. The writer shared herself with the reader so concisely that it’s almost as if I could feel her emotions as the stories unfold. My own mother chose drugs over her children for many years and the trauma and feelings of loss that the writer shared gave me a sense of community that I didn’t know I lacked.

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An honest, searing look at one woman's formative years, and how she moved past them. From losing her mother at an early age, to her father's remarriage and move to a different part of the country to embrace her aunt and uncle's "religion", Rachel tells the story of her life in a raw, unflinching tone.

I especially enjoyed her descriptions about living in Cambodia, and cried during the chapter about reporting on the tsunami 2004, and how she forgave and reconciled with her father and stepmother.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC!

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Women We Buried is a thoughtful and in-depth look at Snyder's life. The loss of her mother at a young age and the turbulent relationship she had with her father and stepmother are covered in most of the book. Her mother's untimely death was especially painful and attributed to her chaotic and unfulfilled teenage years.

I enjoyed the author's writing style, especially how she went about incorporating a story from her past with the recent information she relayed to the reader. Her life as an expat in Cambodia, along with her travels reporting on wars, typhoons, hurricanes, and other tragedies, were descriptive and interesting. After she moved back to the U.S. and acquired a job as a professor in D.C., her relationship with her family, especially her stepmother, was given a second chance, growing into one of respect and caring.

Women We Buried is an exceptional read.

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Oh the things that ill-informed and misguided parents do to their children, often in the name of religion. That Rachel Louise Snyder not only survived a childhood cloaked in an Evangelism that was harsh and abusive, but actually triumphed is a marvel of her will and determination to survive and overcome. I read this book in one big gulp, rooting and cheering every time Snyder pushed past the limits being placed on her, found her agency and rose above her challenging origins. Snyder is an accomplished author who turns her gift inward to tell her own story in moving and clear-eyed prose.

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This is my third exceptional read by this author. Each one, better than the last and all of them 5-star quality. Her writing is rich and engaging,
A beautifully written memoir, Snyder seamlessly weaves the story from the devastating and untimely loss of her mother at such a young age, to the turbulent relationship with her father and step-mother. Forced to relocate across the county and thrown into her aunt and uncles "religious lifestyle."

With deftness and grace, Snyder navigates the complicated terrain of her childhood trauma and presents a model for how to reconcile with the ghosts of your past. Her life as an expat in Cambodia, along with her travels and gutt-wrenching reporting on wars, typhoons, hurricanes, and other tragedies, were descriptive and interesting.

After she moved back to the U.S. and acquired a job as a professor in D.C., her relationship with her family, especially her stepmother, was given a second chance, growing into one of respect and caring. An exceptional read.

Many Thanks to NetGalley, Author Rachel Louise Snyder and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advanced readers copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

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My first 5-star read of 2023! What a powerful and beautifully written memoir! I was left in awe of the author's strength, determination, grace and poise throughout her life as she shared with us some of her deepest, darkest experiences and feelings.

This is truly a story of resilience and thriving against all odds. Snyder had me feel grief, despair, anger, fear, determination, joy, pride, and peace along with her. So many times I wanted to reach out and hug her and I found myself cheering for her all along the way. So many people would have used her early life experiences as an excuse to quit but she used them to propel her forward and I have so much respect and admiration for her.

I will absolutely be seeking out her other books because she writes beautifully and I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a motivational story to carry them through a setback.or just as a reminder of the tenacity of the human spirit.

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This is a real, raw and emotional book. I will be sharing this book with other women in my life including my mother, sister and aunts. It is an insightful way to reconcile with your past trauma and grow for your future. There is no denying that toes are stepped on and angry bears poked, but it is real and I felt every word. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

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The author shares the heart wrenching death of her mother when she was a young girl.and the effect it has on the family.She writes of the changes in her life and I was completely drawn in by her writing her spirit a story that stays with you even after you read the last pages.#netgalley #bloomsbury

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Powerful and raw book. It's an emotional read of trauma, resilience and perseverance. I would recommend reading this book with a box of tissues.

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This memoir BLEW me away. I didn't know if it would have been a book that I would have been interested in, yet I was proven wrong almost immediately. What an empowering story. Unlike many others that have read this book, I really knew nothing about Rachel Snyder. I didn't know the genre that was typical for her, let alone anything about her personal life. Immediately, I was drawn. Her resiliency throughout the book was astonishing.

From losing her mother at a very young age, to being uprooted by her father shortly after, Rachel continued to persevere. Not only was she moved from her family home, but her father also remarried and brought the family into a "born-again Christianity" cult like experience that provided a whiplash of sorts to Rachel and her siblings, especially since they were raised as Jewish. Rachel rebelled, causing her to leave home, drop out of high school, get into partying and drugs, etc. Despite all the challenges, she continued to move forward. She formed relationships with others that helped her move in a positive and constructive direction. She received her GED and made it to college. She had gotten married and had a child of her own. She traveled the world. I think the part I most admired was that she came back to support the family that did not show the same support to her. She became a fierce advocate for her dying stepmother to ensure she lived her last days with dignity and respect.

I will 1000% read other books by this author. I cannot wait to be immersed in her other stories. Thank you, Net Galley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy!!

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