Kin: A Memoir | 
pickBought this book after meeting the author last November (book fair). I have mixed feelings about it, but I do think it‘s a pick, just not a favorite. Her story is interesting, but parts went on too long. I also felt like there were some gaps that I wanted explained (like why did her family return home to Ky). Think it ended in a weird place, too, with a paragraph about her future that should have been the end. #doublespin for February
so-soI think this needed some editing. Another memoir, but one I wasn‘t totally taken by. A bit like Educated, Glass Castle, and the like that show readers a tough childhood and coming of age. But the way Rodenberg flopped back and forth between her own story and those of her relatives didn‘t work for me. The relatives‘ stories were just long enough to be boring and too short to care about them. I had high hopes for this…But I nearly bailed!
pickShawna‘s first memories are of living in The Body cult in MN. While her family would dip in and out of that church, they relocated back to Eastern KY when she was 9. This is her story of her family: her abusive relationship with her father, her difficulty getting an education, and her complicated relationship with religion. She also tells the story of her parents‘ upbringing in flashback chapters. If you liked Educated, this is worth a read!
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