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Dec 17, 2009

Andrea rated it:

I am currently reading this book as well as A Thousand Splendid Suns. I really like Come Back. It is the true story of and honor student, Mia, who becomes a drug addict. She and her mom, Claire, who is a screenwriter. They have a very close mother/daughter bond, but something goes terribly wrong. The book is written in the first person by both of them and so far, I am loving it.

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2008

Blythe rated it:

I enjoyed this book and read it really quickly, though it wasn't quite what I expected. It quickly devolves into a soft sell of self-help group (read, Landmark Education) "technology," which I am highly suspicious of. Also suspicious of the daughter's diary entries, which read a bit too close to the mother's voice and subject matter to be a coincidence.

Both of these complaints aside, this is a great examination of the bond between a mother and child, the pain felt at the br More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 27, 2009

Ellen rated it:

Why do I keep reading memoirs?

Because I keep hoping that people write them because they feel their life has something in common with the rest of us.

Not to find out that a book is written by a spoiled "poor little rich mom" who becomes an armchair psychologist and can't stop spending thousands of dollars on boutique self-help programs.

Now let's step back. You can read the description yourself and infer that this is a story about a teen runaway who More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2008

Khaya rated it:

Whoa -- this book was intense. I knew that going in, and wouldn't normally have chosen it (I stayed away from "Hannah's Gift" despite numerous recommendations from friends, because I can't handle reading about topics like the death of a child), contrary to the ribbing of my friends and family who always insist that I like the most depressing books. One of the mixed blessings of being in a book club is being forced to read books you wouldn't normally pick up, I guess.

Readi More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2008

Elyssa rated it:

I read this book because it was assigned to the graduate students I supervise as part of their internship experience. Co-written by mother and daughter Claire and Mia Fontaine, it's the story of their simultaneous recovery.

It begins with Mia as an adolescent, starting to act out (drug abuse, promiscuity, cutting, eating disorder, etc) and inexplicably running away. After deeper examination, it appears that Mia is acting out unresolved trauma from being sexually abused by her biologi More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2012

Joy rated it:

An excellent, touching book on mother-daughter bond. I find myself wanting to read the parts the daughter wrote.In this book I've learned that you have to face your fears, face the reality even if it hurts so that you can accept the things that you can never change, so that you can forgive yourself and that person who have done wrong to you. Sometimes, we think that we want to go away to protect our love ones but in the end we are the ones hurting them by not telling what made us go away, what m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2008

Yasmin rated it:

I am not one usually to read non-fiction, but this mother-daughter story "through hell and back" was a fantastic read.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 23, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Powerful memoir of a mother and daughter who struggle to fix their lives and their relationship. Mother and daughter co-author the book. Daughter's part is in italics and mother's part is regular print, so it's easy to follow.

After running away from home multiple times, the daughter is sent to a boot-camp recovery program in Europe. She suffers from several issues, the biggest of all is the abuse she received from her biological father when she was young. With that baggage, she s More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 03, 2010

Marie rated it:

At first I found myself liking this book less and less -- it starts off with a story we've heard before -- "my perfect daughter one day up and ran away from home." But it quickly becomes obvious that the utter shock that the mother (Claire Fontaine) feels when she finds her daughter (co-author Mia Fontaine) has run away is entirely self-deception. When the story really becomes interesting is when Mia starts to tell her own story -- and you realize that the book is really written from More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2010

Caitlin rated it:

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did, but I found the psychology of abuse and drug addiction and the dynamic between a single mother and her daughter fascinating. The story jumps back and forth between the mother's story and then the daughter will jump in with her perspective, so the book flips back and forth between them, which I thought would be gimmicky but actually works. So you get both sides of the story as Mia runs aways, they track her down, send her to a rehab/strict bo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2010

Grace rated it:

Mother and daughter tell their parallel stories in mesmerizing first–person accounts. Claire Fontaine's story is a parent's worst nightmare, a cautionary tale chronicling her daughter Mia's drug-fueled manipulation of everyone around her as she sought refuge in the seedy underworld of felons and heroin addicts, the painful childhood secrets that led up to it, and the healing that followed. Her search for Mia was brutal for both mother and daughter, a dizzying series of dead ends, incredible coin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 17, 2009

Ellyn rated it:

This memoir, co-written by a mother (Claire) and her daughter (Mia), tells the story of Mia's fall into drugs and street life as a teen, precipitated by the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father as a young child. The majority of the book is about Mia's slow and difficult recovery after Claire forces her into a strict behavior modification school in the Czech Republic. Claire's healing from her own past traumas occurs simultaneously as she goes through the "program" wit More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 15, 2009

JoAnn/QuAppelle rated it:

Claire and Mia Fontaine have done a masterful job of showing what happens inside a reprogramming center for out-of-control teens....mostly teens on drugs who have been "committed" to these facilities by their parents, who have reached the end of their rope, so to speak.

Since this is a "memoir", I was somewhat skeptical of some of it.

I think the book could have used some editing for length and I also found the plethora of details about the seminars att More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 30, 2007

Nina rated it:

this is a memior of sorts. a mother daughter journey and all the things a mother will do to save her child. mia was sexually abused, turns to drugs as a teenager, and runs away. the story is told from both points of view, which makes it interesting and can appeal to both demographics. it was beautifully written, and a heartfelt story.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2009

Rhonda rated it:

Mia is sexually abused at a very early age by her father, and this story is her struggle to deal with the emotional damage she suffers in her teenage years as a result of this terrible trauma. Mia goes from a very good student to a runaway druggie...in reality she had been using drugs for at least a year before running away. This is written by both Mia and her mother, Claire, offering parallel points of view throughout the book.

This book was enlightening in that it was not just t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Mary rated it:

I have watched the show "Intervention" several times, and this book reminds me of that show. They always begin with the story of a person gone down a bad, dark path. Then they tell stories of their childhood, and I always tell my husband.."Wait for it" "Wait for it." Because inevitably, they tell you about a trauma this person went through. Often in childhood, often abuse at the hands of a parent. It makes me so sad to know how damaging these events are for people a More...

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Jul 30, 2011

Kate added it

Excellent! Compelling, heartbreaking and amazing; I had such a hard time putting this book down but at the same time the level of emotion made it so hard to read! I read it with the heart of a mother... imagining how hard it would be to watch one of my kids suffer through the abuse and broken soul that Mia had to. I got through Part One and had to set it down for a few days; same with Part Two. After that, as Mia and Claire start to move toward healing and the emotion isn't as painful, I co More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 22, 2011

Keri rated it:

Why did I pick up this book? I seem to be drawn to books about mother/daughter relationships - good and bad. I'm thinking it has to do alot with losing Whitney. Sometimes I feel like was such a bad Mother and I go down that road of 'if I only did this'. A few lines that stuck to me: When Claire is sending Mia away she talks about how she "is siezed with panic and regret. She'll (Mia) will be so far from anyone who loves her . . .I want to go back, far back, I want to breathe her back into m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 15, 2011

Wendi rated it:

I am surprised to say I actually kind of loved this book. "A mother and daughter's journey through hell and back" doesn't really sound like the kind of book I would normally read or enjoy. But when I slapped the cover closed after reading the last page, I took a deep sigh, counted my blessings, and vowed to be a better mom to these little kiddos of mine that I love so dang much.

I think sometimes I am overly hard on my oldest daughter, trying to teach her to behave and cal More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 13, 2010

Martin rated it:

My mom recommended this book to me. It somehow helped her figure some things out in her life, I believe through its representation of the group therapy process. I felt very close to the book for a different reason: the daughter's rehabilitation facility reminded me of the group home where I used to be a therapist (which also had a fast and unpredicted closing). I listened to this as an audiobook, and the readers portraying the mother and daughter give very good performances. I recommend 'rea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 11, 2010

Heather rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 19, 2009

Deb rated it:

An honest look at the devastating effects of sexual abuse, drug addiction, depression and more. As a reader who has personally been touched {either directly or indirectly} by all of these horrors, it was a memoir that was both difficult and satisfying, heartbreaking and encouraging to read. As a mother with an 18 year old daughter, it made me unbelievably grateful never to have experienced such things as a parent.

Absolutely not a book for anyone who is ultra sensitive. I w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 12, 2008

VegasGal rated it:

Very well written memoir from the mother of a daughter who was an addict. There was a touching bond between daughter and mother that really made this book flow and kept me interested and wanting more, 'til the very end.

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 02, 2007

Lynn rated it:

It was a really good story, but sometimes hard to follow... the author runs 2 side by side stories... and sometimes one was so long that I would forget what was happening with the other. I didn't really like the ending.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Leslie rated it:

It is a great story, especially sense its true. Although at times it is hard to follow... kind of wordy when the mother talks. Otherwise I loved it. Just found myself wanting to read the parts the daughter wrote more.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2010

Susan rated it:

I must start by saying I had a hard time with the beginning of this mother/daughter memoir. I kept turning to the back cover to see the current photo of said mother/ daughter happy and smiling. I needed to see they got through the horrific portion of their lives alive. The "journey through Hell and back" is very raw, tense, and unflinchingly presented. That said, it was still a worthwhile look at how to get ahold of a problem, map out a viable solution, and then implement the plan More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 10, 2009

Rhonda Rae rated it:

This is an awesome story about unconditional love between a mother and her child. It applies to mothers and fathers as well as daughters and sons.

The story tells not only what happened to them but how they got there and what they did to climb out of the pit of hell. I learned many things about my children as well as myself. The description of programs and what each member of the family did to address personal issues is a huge benefit to anyone open to reading this. Even if you do More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 08, 2008

Mom rated it:

a VERY powerful story of a daughter's battle through addiction and her mother's struggle to keep her safe and get her into an effective treatment program.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Lauren rated it:

This book is OUT OF THIS WORLD! It is gripping. It is suspensdeul. It is a true story and is authored by the mother and daughter the story is about. What is unusual is how WELL the story is written. It reads like fiction. It could be easily turned into a screenplay and be hollywood blockbuster.

It is a fascinating yet horrifying journey into abuse, anger, neglect, love, and hatred. A scared, hurting 15 year old girl turns to a life so distroted through the taste of drug abuse that she More...

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Apr 09, 2011

Jen rated it:

Absolutely gripping and heart-wrenching story about the indestructible bond between a mother and a child. At times painful to read, this mother-daughter duo tells their nightmare of a story and brings the reader along for the often devastating but ultimately redemptive ride.

There were points towards the end of the book that felt a little drawn out and left me weary from the excessive therapy-talk, but by then I really felt for these two women and was so invested in their outcome tha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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