Sign in with Facebook
The Butterfly Garden: Surviving Childhood on the Run with One of Americas Most Wanted
by
Chip St. Clair (Goodreads Author)
One of America's Most Fascinating True Crime Cases
Fear rocked Chip St. Clair's world. As a boy, he never knew what would set his father off--maybe the ice cubes had melted in his glass of Tab, maybe dinner was overcooked or undercooked or the gravy was too runny. Regardless, the beatings always came. As did the twisted games of cat and mouse--being thrown from a rowboat
...moreKindle Edition
Published
(first published January 18th 2008)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
669)
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The Butterfly Garden is the story of a man coming to terms with his childhood as an abuse victim. His father literally forces him to hang off a balcony (twenty-seven floors up) and out of a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan. The mother doesn’t help as it seems like she’s also a victim (although the reader later finds out she’s really his accomplice in crime and no better than the father) and an alcoholic.
The author, Chip St. Clair, only breaks free of the violence of his family when his father...more
The author, Chip St. Clair, only breaks free of the violence of his family when his father...more
I thought that The Butterfly Garden was a very good book. I showed me the life that some people have to go through everyday of thier lives. It was going and it also got better and better as I read along. The book was about a boy named Chip St.Clair, he and hos family were always on the move. Chips Father was a Veteran in the Vietnam War and for that reson he was suffering from Post Partum Depression. he was also a very abusive person. CHip was afraid of saying or doing the wrong things all the t...more
This was memoir about a boy who suffered terrible abuse at the hands of his father and mother. I've read quite a few of these types of memoirs in my life because they help me lay to rest the abuse I suffered as a child at the hands of my father and my non-nurturing mother. The author of this book goes on to fight and work with Congress to help children that slip through the cracks like I did. Child services, although called on my dad, did nothing to help me. Also, we have to stop thinking that a...more
The Butterfly Garden is the amazing true story of Chip St. Clair who didn't know he was the son of one of the country's ten most wanted. The abuse and horrors he survives are heart-wrenching, but in the end St. Clair talks about hope, and the transformation that comes through pain. I have chills, even as I'm writing this. I was truly touched and inspired.
The Butterfly Garden By: Chip St. Clair
Chip St. Clair's book The Butterfly Garden surprised me! I honestly thought it would be a very boring book but trust me it's not at all!
Don't let the title of this book discourage you. Yes it looks boring I wouldn't have even grabbed it off the shelf if I hadn't heard about it from my friend. This book keeps you going you just want to know what happened next!
This book is about a boy named Chip St. Clair who grew up in a home full of emotional and physical...more
Chip St. Clair's book The Butterfly Garden surprised me! I honestly thought it would be a very boring book but trust me it's not at all!
Don't let the title of this book discourage you. Yes it looks boring I wouldn't have even grabbed it off the shelf if I hadn't heard about it from my friend. This book keeps you going you just want to know what happened next!
This book is about a boy named Chip St. Clair who grew up in a home full of emotional and physical...more
This was a really disturbing book. Without giving too much away, I can say this reinforces the truth about the resilience of the human spirit. Sometimes though, something just didn't feel quite right. Like maybe things weren't quite the way they were written. There were many loose ends and unfinished areas, this is partly what was disturbing. The VAGUENESS of the overall story, which focused mainly on the authors' feelings and responses to his circumstances, seems somehow contrived at times. I a...more
In portions of this book, I could truly see my stepfather committing some of the acts Chip saw and felt his father do. But I wonder if I truly believe him to be that despicable, or is it just my dislike of the man that brings this reaction from me. My stepfather is a violent man, and this novel gave me hope that perhaps his influence will not mar my life forever, and that perhaps someday I can do as Chip did, and move on, create my own life, my own goals, and counteract some of the evil in the w...more
This book was very readable. His writing style was simple and straightforward. I read it very quickly. About halfway through the book I started feeling skeptical - it started to seem like the person was cashing in on his experience, wallowing in self pity - and then after a pivotal point in the story I was stunned by the value and relevance of the book. The reader needs to go through the entire journey with the author in order to experience the impact of the ending. Anyone who has ever undergone...more
It is unfathomable the hell that Chip St. Clair went through growing up. With each passing chapter I was more horrified. The only good to come of this was that Michael Grant was put back behind bars where he belonged. Chip's entire childhood was a farce. He and his parents moved around a lot, sometimes leaving places in the middle of the night. Chip was punished for the littlest things.....a throw pillow out of place, a dirty sock left on the floor. He endured his abuse up until his teenage yea...more
This is an unusual book. It's the memoir of a boy living with an abusive father and dysfunctional abused mom who had to endure such bizarre episodes as the time his father threw him overboard in the middle of Lake Michigan and then rowed away. It's also a true crime story, as the boy grows up to discover that his father is actually a convicted child murderer on the run, and the author turns him in knowing his mother could also be charged with aiding and abetting the escape from prison. It's an i...more
I finished this book in less than 24 hours. Disturbing. The author is not a writter by profession, so don't expect this if you end up reading this book. It is however a fast moving insightful and gut wrenching picture of what must have been a horrifying experience. I am not sure how a person recovers from this type of continual abuse. I kept expecting at the end to see some sort of counseling treatment connected to his healing/recovery, but there is no mention of it. I am surprized by that. I am...more
Maybe I am a product of the desensitized public that has been "over shocked" throughout the years, and now requires more to be shaken or moved by a book. I just wasn't impressed with this book at all. I want to be fair to St. Clair, who obviously is not a seasoned writer by any means, but I can't seem to get over his amateur prose and overuse of cliche descriptions. I guess it is interesting (and sad) to read about his life story, but in my opinion, he could have made his point on the talk show...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book was amazing and horrifying. I normally like memoirs because I know that it turns out okay in the end--obviously, the author is around to tell the story, so everything is okay. I was NOT expecting the shocking story about the murder of a 3-year old boy. I almost threw up when I read it, and I really wish I hadn't read it. The details were horrifying, and I couldn't get the image out of my mind after that.
That said, I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book. The last quarter I found to...more
That said, I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book. The last quarter I found to...more
Aside from the fact that Chip St. Clair is an engaging writer who tells an incredibly engrossing and moving story, I gave this book five stars because he managed to answer the question, "So what?" Many memoirs expose the horrors of childhood abuse, and I'm all for writing as a form of catharsis if an author does it well. But to earn five stars, the book must go beyond that. St. Clair's book does, despite leaving several mysteries unsolved at the end.
In addition to raising awareness about the eve...more
In addition to raising awareness about the eve...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is a fascinating story of a boy's lifetime of abuse at the hands of his father, culminating in his discovery that his father is a notorious escaped child killer who has been living on the run for his whole life. The descriptions of the abuse were heartbreaking but St. Clair's personal triumph over this adversity to become the founder of Michigan's chapter of Justice for Children and receiving a U.S. Congressional Record for his work made for a very satisfying read.
Interesting read. Amazing story of the resiliancy of the human spirit. Author was open and honest about his struggle - both the successes and the failures of the recovery process. He always affirmed the value of the girlfriend / wife in his life that never stopped supporting him - excellent example of human unconditional love. Without that (her) its obvious the outcome would have been different.
This is a very vivid re-telling of a boy's history and story of his past. His violent past set him up to be the amazing person he is today. This book is very bold, very good. It is an excellent read but I must caution, it is very raw and filled with emotion. His ability to overcome where he came from and more importantly who he came from is an inspiring story and a lesson learned that I won't soon forget.
Chip St. Clair had a rather bizarre childhood with an abusive father, an enabling mother, and much more fear than any child should ever have to experience. As a young adult, Chip discovered that his father had been convicted of murdering a young child and had escaped from prison with the help of his mother 26 years previous. He turned his father in and began searching for answers. His story is heartbreaking, inspiring, and fascinating.
This was a good memoir. As far as terrible childhood's go, I've read worse (A child called "IT") and have actually lived through worse myself; however to find out the mind blowing truth about his father and to have so much unanswered about your life is so sad. The fact that this man transformed all that negativity into doing something so positive with his life is inspiring :)
Think A CHILD CALLED IT meets A DEATH IN WHITE BEAR LAKE. A decently written memoir of a terrible childhood and the trauma caused by a family that was volatile on its best days. It doesn't offer a lot of closure, and the ending section felt overly sappy to me. Still, an inspiring story about overcoming adversity and standing up to your personal demons.
Chip actually came to Ann Arbor at the beginning of 2008. I had been in email contact with him, but was unable to make it to the event. Fortunately, he was kind enough to send me his book and I'm so glad that he did!
Most of us would agree that our childhoods aren't all that great. Most families have secrets that they keep hidden from one another. But imagine you're a teenager and, for the first time in your life, finding out that your father is a wanted man, and you may not be who you think you...more
Most of us would agree that our childhoods aren't all that great. Most families have secrets that they keep hidden from one another. But imagine you're a teenager and, for the first time in your life, finding out that your father is a wanted man, and you may not be who you think you...more
Sep 29, 2008
Karen & Gerard
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who enjoys nonfiction or autobiographies
Recommended to Karen & Gerard by:
my husband
A Bizzare story of Mystery, Hope and Justice! (5 stars)
Chip grew up being abused and not knowing his parents were on the run. Chip didn't find out until he was in college about the secrets his parents kept from him. He realized that they were both very dangerous people and he was fortunate to have survived into adulthood. This book shows the great influence a woman can have on a man and the importance of a good woman in a man's life. Lisa helped Chip sort out his past and loved him for who he wa...more
Chip grew up being abused and not knowing his parents were on the run. Chip didn't find out until he was in college about the secrets his parents kept from him. He realized that they were both very dangerous people and he was fortunate to have survived into adulthood. This book shows the great influence a woman can have on a man and the importance of a good woman in a man's life. Lisa helped Chip sort out his past and loved him for who he wa...more
I wish that we could use this book for my 10F class. I think that a lot of students suffer abuse at the hands of their parents, and it is wonderful to see Chip succeed. They will be able to relate and appreciate the perseverance that Chip shows throughout the whole book. This is such a wonderful book with a wonderful, metaphorical message.
I thought the story was riveting and I couldn't put it down. But I didn't care for the author's style, and found that I scanned most of the book. There was also a lot of poetry in the book, which just doesn't speak to me the way it does to some. So, just personal preferences. But the story is absolutely compelling.
This book was terribly tragic. The things Chip St. Clair endured throughout his life and the questions left unanswered are astonishing. I was inspired by his ability to survive and ultimately overcome even in the most trying times. A difficult book to read but definitely worth it.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I really thought this was a great read. The struggle of a young boy, a young man dealing with his deranged father. I read it some time ago but remember as reading right through the book.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Chip Anthony St. Clair is an American author and Motivational Speaker, best known for his inspirational memoir, The Butterfly Garden: Surviving Childhood on the Run with one of America's Most Wanted. Sought after as expert in child abuse, identity theft, and child protection by major media, St. Clair's work and his story has been featured on Dateline and Good Morning America among others.
More about Chip St. Clair...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Jul 24, 2011 10:11am