Cover Image: Walk Out the Door

Walk Out the Door

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Member Reviews

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an interesting and different take on domestic violence story telling. It tells the story of a young woman and why she goes through with her partner. The story itself dragged on a bit. I liked that it told her story and the abusers thoughts were included.

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Enjoyed this read......But warning is heavy hitting in the domestic violence sector.
I could relate to the storyline of this novel which drew me in even more.
Love Liz the main character, being left alone to her own devices at the age 15 she becomes a very independent young women. Kind of naive at times as she was not versed on being street smart when it came to love....but blinded by love all to real for me.
This book was very engaging and empowering

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Walk Out the Door provides a responsible and accurate portrayal of domestic violence, shedding light on the harrowing experiences of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship. The book stands out by offering a final section that encourages readers to reflect on the moments leading up to the assaults and the assaults themselves, deepening their understanding of the issue. The narrative is easy to follow and manages to captivate the reader's interest for a significant portion of the story. However, the book's main drawback lies in its excessive length, often causing the plot to drag on. Additionally, the descriptions in the book feel somewhat superficial, lacking the depth that could have enriched the reading experience. While Walk Out the Door is worth a read for those willing to invest time and patience, it fails to leave a lasting impression.

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”Walk Out The Door” is a story about generational domestic violence. It is written in a simple prose, but the authors seamlessly portray how easy it is to fall into the trap of manipulation set by the abuser. We can sympathize with the protagonist, Liz, when she realizes her new husband isn’t being completely honest and open with her. When others start noticing that her husband is controlling and has angry outbursts, they step in to help Liz understand that her safety is paramount, especially since she’s pregnant. Both family and friends gently guide her to the truth.

Domestic violence is easy to ignore for those of us who are not affected by it. That’s why stories such as this are so important. The authors both write from a place of expertise in domestic violence. There’s a complexity to this story equal to that of domestic abuse victims.

This book is worthy of 4 stars. And, as an aside, the cover is beautiful! Thank you, NetGalley and Atmosphere Press for the eARC.

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Focusing on domestic violence, the novel does some hard hitting on a very volatile, sensitive subject.
There are several incidents involving egregious domestic battery with several of the main characters.
The novel touches on the feelings and emotions of both the abusers and their victims, allowing readers to see both.
It sends a powerful message to anyone who has endured such abuse, there is help and hope.

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I really wanted to like this book so it saddens me that I have to write this review as it is such an important subject everyone should learn more about. The book was just too simply written for my liking and this is not a simple topic. It was like an immature person was talking to me about their relationship troubles.

The book does explore how domestic violence affects everyone around the victim and the perpetrator, especially the children. And I liked how it showed the generational issues with spousal abuse, but I found most of the scenarios too unbelievable and easily solved.

I appreciated that the authors work at a facility that helps educate and end domestic violence, their experience and knowledge do come through, I just couldn’t get past the amateurish and disjointed writing style.

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Well written and a easy read. The father and son both being abusive, was a great storyline really added more of a twist in the book. I'm glad that Matt side was in the story. I feel without it, it would have been not as interesting. I really enjoyed this read and would recommend it.

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The co-authors of this book worked at an agency to end domestic violence in Oregon, and that shows — not always in a good way.

It's clear that the story is there; the basic story here is pregnant Liz slowly starting to experience violent behavior, both physical and emotional, from her partner Matt. When she learns about his tumultuous upbringing at the hands of an explosive father, she realizes just how many victims the cycle of violence creates.

The themes of women empowerment and coming together to overcome systematic issues is great, and I can also see some attempts to add nuance in the portrayal of why abuse becomes passed down.

Unfortunately, the thing that really drags down the book for me is the writing style, both on a macro and micro level.

In terms of sentence structure, much of the conversations and the descriptions don't flow naturally and instead read like a cautionary anecdote you might see in an informative pamphlet. People rattle off legal outcomes and warning signs, and you never really feel like these are real characters as opposed to didactic examples. It's clear that the authors are very knowledgeable about the content, but the delivery isn't there.

Put together, the entire book starts to feel like one anecdote after another. That's the primary way in which information is delivered; Liz often learns about occurrences simply through one character rehashing everything that happened to her, and many past events are also summarized through narration. It makes it very difficult to emotionally connect with any side characters and it feels like we're reading an "about me" page.

I also honestly think the writing isn't subtle enough for its messages, especially when it comes to Matt. We are told that he starts to devolve only after marriage, but from his first appearance, Matt seems like an awful person; his lines and actions are almost too on-the-nose and it makes it hard to imagine how this person could've ever come across as charismatic and likable for Liz to be with him. To a lesser extent, I feel the same away about Quinn, whose villainy feels sometimes too over-the-top and cartoonish. We're told that there's nuance to the situation but it's really not shown.

Ultimately, I think there's a lot of thematic potential here, but it needs a lot of reorganizing.

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This book hit home! As a woman who’s been through DV all I can say is wow wow wow the trauma and DV is well written and at times hard to read but definitely an eye opener!

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This was at times a very hard book to read but done so so well. A book about domestic violence and trauma. The story and the characters felt very real to me throughout the books and stories. It was engaging and informative also.

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WOW what a story about trauma and domestic violence. Definitely would recommend. Loved the writing.

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A powerful book about domestic violence that captured my attention within the first couple of pages. My heart was pounding! Good character development and you can tell the authors know this subject matter from the descriptive language and details. Well done. Fast-paced, four stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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Fast moving story, simply written. Sometimes felt characters were a bit forgotten about for a while, but eventually finished off. Enjoyable!

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A story based around domestic violence which really caught my attention. It was the subject matter throughout the entire book and effected many people, their family, work life and friends. I was pleased to hear about the support mechanisms in place for the characters for both victims and abusers. It sometimes takes cruel times like these that bring people together, a very engaging read.

Thanks to Atmosphere Press and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy to read. As always, my reviews will also be posted on Amazon, Goodreads and Waterstones and interaction on Facebook and instagram where possible.

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Walk Out the Door
by Pearl Wolfe and Evelyn Anderton
A behind the curtain of domestic violence, and how it affects the victim, the family, and friends. The violence affects the children, and you see how many give one more chance as abuse starts with red flags. Not every victim or any go in seeing abuse as it begins. It clearly shows and explains how "why don't they just leave" is not as easy as the advice. Good read.

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