The monster inside by Eva Velasquez is in large parts her memoir of early sexual abuse at the hands of her maternal grandfather, but it is also so much more. It a story of struggle, hope, perseverance and success.

Evas writing style is very blunt and straightforward. She approaches a harsh topic head on and without flinching she lays her family secrets bare. I quite enjoyed reading this book, which sounds odd considering its topic. The truth is that Evas no frill attitude and use of humor make this book easier to swallow.

Unfortunately there are so many other "Evas" in this world. I am hopeful that this book will be able to inspire others who have lived a similar story. Even in 2020 sexual abuse is still an issue. I think memoirs like this need be written and they need to be read.

One thing that I found especially unique about this sexual survivor memoir was that Eva chose to focus more heavily on her movement beyond her abuse rather than the abuse itself. I really liked this approach and the sense of hope it represents.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a memoir of Eva Velasquez documenting the life she had led as a victim of early sexual abuse when she was just twelve by a member of her own family. Around 1980s for a catholic person, a person victimized as this was largely seen as a sin and keeping the secrets hidden was the only option. Bigger hurdles awaited when she became a pregnant high-school dropout, married and was abused by an alcoholic for more than a decade.
In this book, instead of degrading her life simply as a victim, she puts forth efforts with resilience to morph from a high school dropout to a CEO of national victim services organization at the end. Fighting through the darkness of her past, she rises up to enjoy the transparency of her new community and using this medium, she relies on complete freedom to extend help to other victims and consumers.
“Owning all of your past experiences is a critical step in healing and accepting yourself.”
I really liked the fact that even though the truth was harsh, cold and sad, the author has taken such a bold step to let the world understand pain like hers and reach out to victims like her and guide them towards a resilient life after abuse instead of the abuse destroying their identities.
Whether you are a victim or not, I think every single one of us is responsible to know and understand their pain and bring justice to the world. So, this is a highly recommendable book. I learned a lot about how they tend to think and act because of the affect the abuse had on them. Such a good book. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the copy.

While I was afraid I made the mistake of reading three heavy books about sexual abuse, they were fortunately very different in stories, and had different outcomes. The Monster Inside immediately jumps into the author's experience and then she gives her story of everything that comes after. How you want to live you life, how you do live your life, and how the abuse changes everything.

It's possible that my opinion is swayed from the fact that I was reading two other books about this type of assault, but nonetheless, The Monster Inside is a story of resiliency and surviving the horrors of what happens to way too many women, young and old.

5/5 Stars

I found this life story really interesting and I think it would be a good read for people that have gone through something similar and need to see that you can still live a fulfilling life. That being said, definite trigger warnings for sexual abuse, pedophilia, incest, alcoholism, domestic abuse, and suicide.

There's a part in here that literally made my mouth drop open and it happens much later on in the book - specifically to do with her mother. She then writes that she has forgiven her mother and hopes her readers can too. I understand why and how she was able to forgive her, but damn. I just... Wow. Protect your children, people. Protect. Your. Children.

I kind of glazed over the last chapter or two because I felt like the book was done at that point. I'm glad she got her happy ending, but it was just too much info that I didn't care about at that point. (Yes, I know, I'm apparently just riveted by tragic stories and not so interested in the happily ever after. That's not lost on me.)

Overall though, I thought it was an interesting tale and I hope writing it helped the author heal.

Although incredibly serious topics are covered in "The Monster Inside", Eva Casey Velasquez still manages to present her story in a very accessible way so that everyone can take some lessons away from her journey.

It's an incredibly interesting and powerful story - One that I think many would benefit from reading.