I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. An amazing look at the consequences of using abusive tactics like the silent treatment, I was enthralled by this book. This truly showed how it affects the recipient but also the person giving the silent treatment. This is a unique topic not talked about enough and I truly feel this book will resonate with many people who have experienced this at some point in their lives. It was also an easy read which makes it even better.


Review will be posted on Instagram and Amazon on pub day and links added to NetGalley.

Emotional abuse from parents is a tricky topic, but Vanasco did it justice. She is a talented writer who had my attention from the first chapter. I haven’t read her other memoirs, but I plan to after reading this

It'll be impossible for me to provide a truly objective review, since Jeannie Vanasco is a former professor of mine and it's impossible for me not to see her teaching in her writing. Maybe that's true for every writer that teaches! I know that she's a soldier of craft -- often pressing our classes to interrogate an author's craft decisions rather than their content, but also once or twice joking that she'd sometimes forget that there are people who read for content, not just for craft -- and I can see this in "A Silent Treatment," the way that Vanasco has carefully approached each sentence and its representation of the minute details that compose a truth. I'm curious if there will be readers that wish for heftier content, but readers are often a supposing bunch. Still, shoutout TU, shoutout Jeannie, I'm so going to make my library patrons read this.

Oh this book gave me chills! Just wow! Could not stop reading and stayed up way too late. The ending just was fantastic! Such a great book.

I've read both of Jeannie Vanasco's previous memoirs and both were incredible 5 star reads, in my opinion. This one, however, fell a bit flat. A large part had to do with the fact that this ARC (which I received as an e-book through NetGalley) had formatting that was all over the place, making it difficult to read.

I suspect when this is published in hardcover, the book itself will be very stylized, with different fonts, maybe notes in the margins or footnotes, to keep track of all the different speakers and letters. Reading it as a block of text basically didn't work well.

Vanasco is a talented writer and I will certainly read any other books she writes, but this one I think will prove to have a very different impact if it is published in the appropriate layout/format.

The subject material of this book was very interesting, and it examined emotional abuse from parents in a way that was compelling and heart-wrenching. Please research trigger warnings if needed, as there is a distinct heaviness and pain throughout as Vanasco grapples with the neglect and abuse she faces from her mother.

How do you write a book about not speaking between characters? If you're Vanasco, you do it and do it effortlessly. I've been a fan of her other works, and this story was a continuation and exploration of just how good of a storyteller she is. You will get lost in the pages about motherhood, being a daughter and a wife, and complicated emotions. Be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster as you settle in to read this one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.