Dana's story is fascinating, and she writes in the engaging way of a well-crafted and experienced writer. She has sympathy and love for her family members while at the same time specifically naming and calling out their mental health conditions and how their behaviors created trauma throughout her life. Being familiar with her previous books, she is a true testament to the power of healing. I do wish she spoke more in this book about how she is healing. It seemed a little rushed at the end as she grew into adulthood and the shocking parts of her story had passed. Though she did address some of how she processed these events, I'm hoping her next book will be a deeper exploration of how her past has affected her adulthood. She has such a gift for writing and teaching, and I would like to see more of those skills applied to her own story in ways that would benefit her readers.

A very poignant and moving memoir. I enjoyed the author’s style in telling her story. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in return for this review.

What a very interesting book.. When she was growing up her family was very Disconnection. Both her parents And?
Mental problems. Her father was a drug runner in a small town i In the midwest. Mother have problems as well.She never got out of the be Father never look like authority. She was Around drugs she was very little. Her father taught her how to do to Drug runs. And package drugs. She had no Supervision. The mother decides to go back to north carolina She takes the child with her.. She had a child Named.
Lee. This is From her first marriage. She kept Spending money which you do not have. She had a job But it did not last. She went back to her hometown because she had no choice. Start to go back to church and this turned the little girl's life around. She managed to go on through life p Even for her parents were not real parents. The managed to get through college even follows problems there. She had a will to survive everything and this made her positive outlook and life. She knew her life was messed up but she knew she had to go on with it..

Truly just unbelievable that author Dana Trent was able to grow up with a drug dealing father and two parents with some mental health issues in a world of poverty and one day graduate from Duke University with a divinity degree, but somehow she did. She shares her story growing up with her parents in Indiana and later with only her mother in North Carolina. She certainly has her own story of some difficult days for herself. A compelling story to read.

My thanks to Net Galley and Convergent Books for an advanced copy of this e-book.

This is interesting and well written. It moves at a good pace and it was easy to follow. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to J. Dana Trent, Convergent Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Between Two Trailers by J. Dana Trent was the book equivalent of your friend saying "have I got a story to tell you?!?" and then sharing a humdinger for the sake of info exchange.

The author, who goes by "Dana" in the book, has very clearly led a heavily traumatic, exciting, undeniably unique, and often heartbreaking life. Between Two Trailers takes us along on her journey, starting in childhood, ending in her 40's (in what sounds to be almost modern day). This book is written in clear and concise prose, paced absolutely perfectly, and was very captivating to me because her life sounds to have been very different from my own.

Yet, I cannot say that this book was written for a purpose outside of telling her tale. Unlike many non-fiction stories, there isn't much by way of delving into what this journey has taught her about life. This book is tale heavy and reflection light. Which is completely okay, but for me resulted in a feeling of almost repetitiveness because while the happenings changed, the overarching theme stayed the same. To be fair, the reader can glean some lessons-learned including recognizing the difficulty of living with both overt and more cover mental illnesses and mental health issues, the importance of family and other support systems, the idea of parents generally doing the best they can with what tools they have been given. We can also see the broad impacts of trauma and the inherent survival instinct in children just from the very narrative of Trent's tale. Still, when all was said and done, I did find myself lightly wondering why this author was inspired to write this book ( aside from the personal healing that comes with identifying and sharing trauma).

All in all, this book was a fascinating look at a unique and chaotic life. If hearing a wild story is of interest to you, this might be a good fit. (If your life was traumatic, unique, and / or chaotic, I would recommend passing because there isn't much to receive here aside from hearing another's tale of misfortune and survival.)

Between Two Trailers is a moving and difficult tale of two people who wrestle with life and their own personal demons. It also portrays the resilience of a child and the ability of a village of people who aren't perfect, but provide care when needed and love that is enough.

Although heavy in detail, it tells an uplifting story of perseverance through hardship and the power of forgiveness. Dana's innocence and childish trust help her navigate life with her psychotic drug running father and her selfish, personality disordered, TV ministry watching mother. Neither provides the safety and security that a little girl needs. Thankfully there are plenty of well meaning and caring family members who help keep this young girl afloat in the challenges of growing up without the luxury of being able to be a child. In the end, Dana finds home and acceptance of herself and the love she feels for her parents.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

I hate to dislike memoirs because they are so personal, but this book felt like trauma was just being shoved at us. As if everything was just told for shock value. Dana had a terrible upbringing and didn't seem to have any opportunities to be a kid.

For anyone who grew up in a dysfunctional home, Between Two Trailers will hook memories of long-forgotten coping strategies and crazy stories. For those who did not, Trent’s story of her parents’ drug trafficking, psychosis, and extreme selfishness will seem unbelievable. Raising two parents is a huge responsibility for a child!

Her growing-up years, split between her dad’s dilapidated trailer in the Midwest and her mum’s unstable Southern veneer, were characterized by persistent hunger, chronic uncertainty, and God as a franchise of the Christian Broadcasting Network. As a substitute teacher in the public school, I love reading accounts of resiliency in children. Understanding their educational challenges is impossible unless we know what they’re dealing with at home.

J. Dana Trent’s educational journey took her, ultimately, to seminary where lessons in biblical languages took a back seat to the more arduous lessons of forgiveness, mercy, and grace for her tangled roots. None of us is born into a perfect home. Some of us carry our childhood homes as a lifelong burden. Only when we turn around in our path and face the home that formed us do we find the freedom to create a new home and love it, wherever it may be found.

Many thanks to Convergent Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

I was looking forward to reading this book and was disappointed to discover that it did not appeal to me at all. It ended up being more of a stream of consciousness narrative that flowed through the pages. What a horrible childhood the author endured. And while I can handle reading about those types of experiences, the way this was presented did not keep my attention. I have to make myself pick up the book and read one more chapter ... one more page. However, there appear to be many people who appreciated the book, so I would encourage you to decide on your own if you would enjoy this memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley and Convergent Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Thank you to the publisher for my copy. All opinions are my own.

I really, thoroughly enjoyed this story. While utterly heart wrenching and devastating at times, it is written with such honest vulnerability that you cannot help but be fully invested in the story of Dana Trent's life.

Highly recommend for memoir lovers this summer.

It’s always hard to rate a memoir, because it’s someone’s life.
This one is extremely well written, especially the first half, and the last quarter. It dragged a little in the college years, almost like that part of her life was an after thought. Though, in reading the book, I can understand why.

Overall I recommend, especially to people that grew up with relatable childhoods.

3.5 stars!
Dana lives with her parents, the Lady and King. The Lady has severe mental illness, never gets out of her bed and pays very little attention to Dana. King is a drug dealer, who employs Dana in helping him cut product and acting as a lookout. King is also a paranoid schizophrenic, who is unmedicated and often experiences delusions. Through poverty and neglect, Dana finds her way after the Lady decides to leave King, once and for all.

Thank you to @convergentbooks and @netgalley for my review copies! This memoir reminded me of Educated in some ways. It was so gritty and I couldn’t believe some of the things that Trent endured as a young child. She was so resilient and overcame so much. I liked the length, but wish we knew more about Dana’s successes as an adult today.

My heart ached for Dana as I read about her being negligently raised by brilliant but mentally ill parents. Of the three of them, she was the most responsible. Kudos to her for being able to overcome all that she did without bitterness. This is a hard book to read, but at the same time, it's a must-read.

As a life-long Hoosier not unfamiliar with childhood poverty and familial mental illness, I found Trent's exploration of her childhood both painful and moving. Trent takes care to present her parents in all their complexity without minimizing their faults and failures. Her depiction of the many obstacles she faced, as well as the ways she coped and persisted, were equally unflinching. While the reader does get to cheer Trent on as she graduates college then graduate school, and meets and marries her husband, the final section of the book feels a bit rushed. Even so, Trent's willingness to excavate her own past and make meaning in order to move forward are admirable.

Thanks to Net Galley and Convergent Books for this ARC.

An enjoyable read by Dana Trent. She had a lot of childhood trauma to overcome. I feel that there were some lose ends that as a reader I wanted some closure on - like what happened to her brother, Lee, and how her mother's financial irresponsibility affected her adult life.

Reading the synopsis I was immediately intrigued. A preschooler dealing drugs?! That’s wild.

However, upon reading the book I found that it wasn’t holding my interest as well. The preschool drug dealer thing is a little blip at the beginning.

Doesn’t make it a bad book but I didn’t find myself looking forward to reading more. I’m glad Dana was able to get to a good place in her life.

Thanks to NetGalley, J. Dana Trent, and Convergent Books for the opportunity to read Between Two Trailers. I have written this review voluntarily.

It took me a little to get into this book, but I'm glad I kept going since I found the story very engaging. I thought it did a good job telling what it is like to grow up with parents with a mental illnesses.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6431518509

*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

On the surface, J. Dana Trent's memoir tells the dramatic story of a childhood with two mentally ill, addicted parents. There's a deeper story here, too, that should be relatable to anyone who has ever questioned what it means to call a particular place your home.

I grew up with a similar family dynamic, and the emotional tone of the book rang true to me. Trent is a fantastic, detail-oriented writer who interweaves multiple places and timelines into a moving narrative that made me sob like a baby at the end. This was a great read!

(Thanks to NetGalley and Convergent Press for providing me with an ARC copy of Between Two Trailers to review.)