While I appreciate that Sydney Smith had an unhappy childhood I am not sure that she has written about it in a manner that allows me to have any real insight into exactly what happened to her and why. She is never able to explain what was 'wrong' with her mother nor why her father acted the way he did. It seems that Ms Smith has not fully dealt with the issues of her childhood - her book certainly does not give any sense of her observing or judging things from a distance - it is almost as though she had written the book very shortly after the events she describes - which I understand is not the case at all. ( )

I am full of admiration for this writer. She is honest and brave and strong, despite what her family told her. To have survived such an anguished childhood with the dignity and poise to write so clearly and eloquently is remarkable. ( )