Reading this book is an absolutely crushing experience. Not because of the writing, it's excellent. Andrea's book is an amazing memoir, but because of the story itself. The way her parents failed her and brutalized her is bad enough. But what they did to her essentially groomed her to be a victim to every abusive male she encountered, from early teenager through adulthood.

The fact that she managed to overcome this through therapy is a testament to her strength and resilience. No child deserves a tenth of what she went through.

Everyone should read this book, not only because of its excellence, but because it might give them the tools to detect if this is happening to anyone in their circle and, hopefully, take action accordingly. Andrea deserved a savior that she never got.

Kudos to Andrea for surviving, first of all, and more importantly, for sharing all this, which must have been incredibly painful. May her parents be in the place they so richly deserve to be in for eternity.

The horrors and the shame that this author was forced to endure is unimaginable. She remembers & shares the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her father beginning at age 4. She discusses her mother's failure to protect her from the ongoing abuse, or even acknowledge her suffering. Andrea suffers from multiple issues & insecurities throughout her life. Her nightmares, panic attacks, self-harming, and suicidal tendencies all seem to stem from her childhood abuse. She does not seem to know how to trust or develop any real intimacy in her life. She learned to stuff all her feeling down & hide her pain.

As an adult, when she truly delves into therapy and then inpatient treatment program, she finally begins to pour out those memories and begin to live.

I don't know how to rate this book. The author worked through those horrors and is sharing her soul with the reader. Awarding stars seems disrespectful and crude, but I do believe this is a powerful story that makes me appreciate my life and parents more.

Beware if you have ANY TRIGGERS, but this is absolutely a story that should be shared.

Thank you to She Writes Press & netgalley for the advanced reader copy. Thank you to Andrea Leeb for being brave enough to share your story!

absolutely heartbreaking.....
I love memoirs so when this one came up on Netgalley I jumped at it not knowing what it was about. And then I started reading and put it down. I did not want to know about this. It's uncomfortable and horrible and a blaring reminder of all the evil in the world.
Which, ironically is the reason why stories like these need to be told and read and used to bring awareness so other victims can come forward and get the help they need. So I picked up my phone and kept reading.

This is hard material to read, especially the first quarter of the book. Andrea Leeb tells the story of her childhood and how at 4 years old she's given a bath by her father, something he's never done before as her mother is the one to do it but he starts touching her inappropriately and her mother walks in and screams, falling to the floor and becomes blind. Turns out it's a real condition that can happen from a traumatic experience, it's called hysterical blindness. This is all in the beginning of the book so it's not spoiling anything and you should know what you're getting into when you read this.

The mother goes away to the hospital and after a month her vision returns but she says nothing about the incident and any hint of it, her mother ignores. Her father continues to come to her room at night regularly and abuses her and threatens her not to say anything.

I cannot imagine what this is like nor do I want to but Andrea's detailing of her life living with that abuse for several years and the damage it does to her emotionally and how it all but ruins her mental stability is what I got out of it. It's amazing how resilient the human body is, but we are not meant to live life in our own little bubble. The story goes on from her abusive childhood and details her life as a teenager and what happens in her young adult life. It's truly not for the faint of heart but she survived and thank God for that. And I pray that others who find this story and haven't been able to get the help they need find the strength and the right person to talk to.

Wow, what a memoir. For readers of “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jenette McCurdy and “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls, this gut-wrenching story follows Andrea starting at age four-and-a-half — the first time her father touched her. Her mother walked in, fainted, and woke up blind. Andrea’s childhood continues, rife with abuse and secrets. This abuse affects Andrea long into adulthood and, eventually forced to confront her past, she begins to heal.

This was such a painful but important read. It is also extremely well-written; you can see how the smart, precocious, avid-reader child turned into the adult who put pen to paper here. The author did an excellent job at reflecting while not attributing age-inappropriate thoughts to her younger self, which can be very difficult when writing a memoir about childhood abuse.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Andrea, for your vulnerability and trusting the world with your story.

Such a Pretty Picture is a hard, sad, and good read. Andrea Leeb’s memoir details years of sexual abuse at the hand of her father, which was wholly ignored and denied by her mother. The opening scene is horrifying and dramatic, and while the magnitude of shock lessens throughout Such a Pretty Picture, the sadness and trauma do not.

Above all, Leeb is a survivor. More of the memoir is spent unpacking her abuse than her recovery, but the journey of Leeb’s suffering was far longer than her time of healing. Leeb tried to find peace sooner, but came up against closed doors and denials. It’s maddening to know how many people can provide excuses and rationales for abuse not existing, being in someone’s head.

Such a Pretty Picture is well-written and, even though I always have a hard time saying this about books like this, I liked it. Recommended. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Whew….Firstly thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Thank you to the author for your courage and bravery. I had to remind myself often that this was someone’s real life and I’m sure is a reality for more people than I could ever imagine. All of the trigger warnings. If you are interested in novels like A Stolen Life by Jaycee Duggard, I would recommend Such A Pretty Picture.

Thank you to Net Galley for sharing this ARC with me.

When first starting the book I thought the writing style felt somewhat “clinical”. This made perfect sense once I began to understand the childhood trauma the author had been through. It highlighted how Andrea really was just a young girl, explaining in basic terms, the abuse she was subjected to.

I was happy to see Andrea pursue therapy throughout the book, despite having had the situation blamed on herself.

Overall this a well written memoir which I would recommend to others to read.

With thanks to the Author, She Writes Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Please understand the Triggers within this book before considering reading it:
Sexual assault, Child Sexual Abuse, Grooming, Self Harm + more.

Memoirs / Biographies and Autobiographies are not my usual genre, however Andrea’s retelling of her traumatic upbringing at the hands of her father, and enablement of her mother, is harrowing, heartbreaking but courageous. This memoir is a quick, compelling read, and whilst the topics are heavy and at times sickening, it was an easy read in regard to the flow of the story. The author speaks with a sense of truth, bravery and resilience.

Major trigger warnings for this book — sexual assault and pedophila

It was a tough read…these types of books are hard to read. My heart hurts. I sob. I can’t fathom having to go through this or hurting a child (or anyone) like this.
Also, to be a mother who turns an eye to this.. oh it just makes my heart hurt so much.

I didn’t love the book. I didn’t love the subject matter. It takes a very brave person to detail a life like this for anyone to read. For that I will give the book 5 stars.

Thank you to netgalley and she writes press for the ArC in exchange for my honest review.

In Andrea Leeb’s memoir, we travel through time with her as she lives her life and experiences heart-wrenching trauma time and time again. This memoir is not for everyone due to the subject matter throughout the novel, and everyone should consider what’s best for them before picking it up.

This novel was incredibly well-written, and I couldn’t put it down. I could picture every house Leeb lived in, every outfit she wore, and I could feel what she was feeling at any given moment. It’s a novel that I’n glad I read, but I wish didn’t have to be written.

Thank you to NetGalley, She Writes Press, and Andrea Leeb for the eARC.

This heart wrenching novel made me ache for the child that was and cheer for the adult she became. Thank you to this author for sharing her life story with us, the readers. She bared her soul to us putting her raw emotions down on paper. This book had me hooked from the beginning and carried me all the way to the end. Life isn’t always pretty and perfect. We would like to think we never fail our most vulnerable, but we do. I’m sorry you were failed repeatedly. You’re a true inspiration.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and She Writes Press for an E-ARC of this memoir in exchange for an honest review.

TW's in book - sexual assault, pedophilia, grooming, self harm, suicide attempt/suicidal ideation

Truthfully, I am absolutely blown away by Andrea's story and the courage and bravery she has to tell her story. I am a survivor of sexual assault, and while my story compared to the author's is very different, I find myself amazed by the women who have the courage to put their stories on paper. Facing these realities are difficult, especially in having to drag these memories back into your brain and out of your fingertips is truly a test. This was so beautifully written, and I am so incredibly grateful to be one of the readers that could experience it. It was very raw, and very honest - with its brutal look into the thoughts and memories of the author being groomed and assaulted by someone she thought she could trust. I truly wish this author happiness as she goes about her life knowing she was able to tell her story and possibly help others in possibly telling theirs, too.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC. 

This was a very tough read because of the subject matter, so I just want to make sure that everyone knows what they're getting into with this. Read the description, don't pick this up based on the cover. 

This book was very well written and handled the difficult subject matter with grace. 

I'm glad the author found peace.

This memoir was a captivating, compelling read. The sexual abuse that the author suffered at the hands of her father was horrifying. Both parents were not prepared to parent appropriately due to maturity/mental health complications. The author then went on to a serious of mis-steps as she began seeking romantic relationships.....all so much more understandable knowing the back story. I think the author's courage in publishing this memoir may help others in similar situations and help those of of us fortunate to not have suffered this sort of past to be more aware of the demons others may be facing, even years after the fact. I'm left thinking that stable loving parents are a gift that many of us overlook. This book was a true page turner and a heartbfreaker

Such a Pretty Picture by Andrea Leeb is a heartwrenching memoir about the pain, humiliation and secrets resulting from incest and emotional abuse. It is an extremely well written and poignant account of a lifetime of hurt, adversity, courage and strength.

A mother and father's primary goals in parenting their children are love and safety. Can a child become a functioning healthy adult when those needs are not met? When those demons are not confronted? This memoir exams those questions and the perseverence involved in overcoming the sins of a father.

It left me feeling heartache for Andrea the child, and pride for Andrea the adult.

This was a terrible, heart wrenching story, but an important one. So many people live lives buried in secrets fearing what might happen if they ask for help. Leeb also addresses what can happen if you ask the wrong people for help as well, such as when she tried to tell her therapists and they brushed off her concerns as overreactions.

This story was very fluid and coherent. Leeb wrote with a down to earth tone as if she were a friend telling her story. I commend her for her bravery and resonate with her words.

I was devastated by the memoir. I just wanted to fold the author into a huge hug. The things she endured and the way it was ignored caused me to yell out loud in frustration. Yet there is healing and hope and I was uplifted by her determination to heal. This was a raw, honest memoir written with courage

Such a Pretty Picture: A Memoir by Andrea Leeb is well-written and well-presented. The author tells of her life, from age 4 to adulthood in a clear, factual way that will break your heart. The author is such a clear and compelling communicator- and yet, in all her years of being abused by her father, and her subsequent psychological problems, no one, NO ONE, listened to her. She bravely and courageously eventually found someone who WOULD listen and she began to heal. Truly a meaningful story.

I received an advance digital review copy from NetGalley and She Writes Press. This is my honest review.

“Was it hysterical blindness, or was she willfully blind?”
I couldn’t put this book down. The simple writing style from a child’s view made for a quick read, but was also quite disturbing. The description of the book felt premature as the subway scene didn’t happen until 75% of the way through the book. At times it felt like just graphic descriptions of crimes without clarity, although I understand that from the author’s viewpoint being necessary. I appreciated understanding survivors more and how her journey continued through her life. It has definitely made me reflect on my own life and the secrets those around me may have.

This book broke my heart. As a mother I can no imagine allowing my husband to do that to my child. Our job to is protect our children against all evil, and Andrea’s mother failed her and her sister. It gives me such hope to know that survival and recovery are possible after such a chaotic situation. It also helps me to realize that therapy does help and there are therapist willing to do what it takes to help their patients. Andrea is one of the bravest women that I have ever read about and I thank her so much for sharing her story. God bless you and keep you Andrea. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. It has changed my life forever.