Beautiful Prison

This was definitely an interesting read and very eye-opening. I loved the ending and what Michael had to say about his mother and father.

This book is the kind of memoir that I love so I was very pleased to have been approved. It very much reminded me of "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. It starts out with our main character being forced by his father to live with the rest of the family off the grid in the wild. I found it strange right off the bat that the mother would agree to take her family up in the middle of nowhere when it was clear that she didn't like that idea but for some reason she agreed. It was terrible to read about how Michael's father knew nothing about farming, hunting or living off the land and even when they had the supplies they didn't have the knowledge to make them work. It was terribly
sad. I can't imagine someone putting their family through all of that pain and suffering when it seems that the only reason it was done in the first place was so the father can say that he was doing his best for them family, when in actuality he was doing far from it. What was nice about this read was you do hear about his family starting to make things work if not just out of necessity, but you could feel the longing behind all of the words. This was a great read and I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to read it. For anyone who likes memoirs or books about exploring that this is one that you won't want to miss.

What a freaking crazy story. Imagine being a child trapped in nature but isolation. With someone who the town perceived as a crazy and out of control parent. And when you look back you realize it was a very abusive time. This was a painfully beautiful story and was very well written. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

i really enjoyed going on through this journey, this was a great memoir and I really felt for the author and his family.

I think the title perfectly reflects what happened to this family on an isolated mountain in Idaho. When a father takes the family to a remote mountain in Idaho to avoid issues/people from his life catching up with him and holding him accountable, (including a prior wife and children), it does become a ‘beautiful prison’ for the author who finds beauty in the midst of an abusive, neglectful homelife/lifestyle created by his father. The author describes himself as“…a hostage taken captive by my very own father," and there is a lot of symbolism in the book as it relates to nature and human-nature: The mountain itself, the father's desire to 'pan for gold', the treatment of the animals on the property, and more.
In their new mountain home with no electricity, hardly any food to eat, no toilet, no baths or showers for months, no proper healthcare, no extended family or true friends, and the harsh, rough winters of Idaho, this large family with mostly young children has to figure out how to cope and survive. The mother, who is smart and caring, seems to have ‘given in’ to the father’s unpredictable behaviour until she ultimately makes the decision to change and save herself and her family from the life they are in. Though it took her almost twenty years, it is a relief when she finally makes the decision to no longer allow her life, or the life of her children, to be lived in the same way.
During the three years that the author lived on the mountain, he read extensively, receiving much of his home-school education from books and authors, and I liked how throughout the book the author refers to literature and writing to further his point. The book is inspirational and full of positive messages even though the story itself has undertones of darkness, sadness, neglect, and abuse, and I really like how the author found positive life lessons from such a harsh situation.

Beautiful Prison is a story of family suffering from domestic abuse by a manipulative and abusive father who isolates his family into the wild untamed Idahoan Mountains. The incredible true story portrays the lessons learned through the eyes of childhood emotional neglect from an emotionally immature parent and how eight siblings who survived an unspeakable childhood found the road back from surviving the forest.

One mother discovers all that's wrong with the spiral of toxic events which led to the ultimate survival of her children and why a meaningful life is not supposed to be this way. Running on empty, she learned how to stop doubting and do what it takes to reverse childhood adversity and promote self healing through self-discovery.

This book was an interesting memoir to read. It was emotional in places. You can sense the author's passion in this book and it was very informative.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This was a chilling, worrying and enlightening book on growing up in an abusive, neglectful environment. I was stunned that the mother went along with all of it, but given the effects of domestic abuse, it does make sense. While on the surface, the father claimed this was to do the best for his family, the reality was that the author and his siblings and mother were put in a horrible situation.
It was a harrowing read.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest, unbiased review.