Tracy Ross never knew her biological father, who died after a brain aneurysm when she was still an infant. So when her mother married Donnie...
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Oct 15, 2011
Alex
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Despite reading positive reviews of this book in more than one place, I put off putting it on my to-read list. Oh, I thought, it'll just be another one of those memoirs about redemption from a crappy childhood, and why do I read so many of those, anyway? Well, the reason why I read them is, when done well, they're definitely worth the time. I know a lot of people (probably myself included) whine that anyone who has ever had anything bad happen to them writes a book about it, and who cares after
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Aug 19, 2011
Lynn
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Review of The Source of All Things by Tracy Ross
A Healing Journey
The Source of All Things by Tracy Ross is literally and figuratively a healing journey. Ross embraces the wilderness as the vehicle that transports her from victim to survivor. Along the way, Ross seeks to make sense of the child sexual abuse she experienced. There may be maps to navigate the natural world, but no directions for exploring the alien territory of abuse.
In the aftermath of her biolo More...
A Healing Journey
The Source of All Things by Tracy Ross is literally and figuratively a healing journey. Ross embraces the wilderness as the vehicle that transports her from victim to survivor. Along the way, Ross seeks to make sense of the child sexual abuse she experienced. There may be maps to navigate the natural world, but no directions for exploring the alien territory of abuse.
In the aftermath of her biolo More...
Jul 26, 2011
Terry
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Once I read that this book was expanded from an award-winning essay, it makes sense why I felt like it was two different books smushed together, or, maybe more meanly, an essay with a LOOOOTTTTT of padding stuffed into it to make it a book. There's Ross's story of her abuse, and then there's Ross's memoir of her outdoor-adventure-living-life (quite similar to Pam Houston's books, although I wouldn't say if you like Pam Houston that you would like Ross's book--Ross's tone is much darker and more
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Apr 21, 2011
Josephine
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When you pick up a memoir like Tracy Ross’ “The Source of All Things,” you almost feel like you can’t say anything bad about it because it’s about something really dark and horrible that happened to her…and by default, it’s like you’re expected to applaud her courage for writing about such a traumatic period in her life. But…I almost got the sense that she was just skimming the surface — as if she were afraid to dive deeper…and that’s at odds with what she ultimately did, which was to confront h
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Apr 04, 2011
Cheyenne
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I agreed to read this book with a bit of trepidation. Generally, I don't like reading books about abuse because it disturbs and depresses me. Sure, I know it happens to people and I think it's horrid, but I don't necessarily want to read about it. However, what made me want to read this book despite the disturbing topic was how the author used the healing power of nature to pull herself out of darkness and despair. Being a nature lover and a believer of the holiness of unspoiled wilderness, I wa
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Mar 22, 2011
For anyone who has experienced sexual abuse at the hands of a relative, a friend, or as in my situation, a co-worker when I was 19 years old, for me, this book was a great read.
It is not a dark journey through horrible descriptions of a pedophile. Instead it is a story about courage, love, betrayal and forgiveness. Tracy Ross is an incredibly strong and brave woman to go out on that limb and write a memoir about her family and the abuse she endured from the hands of her stepfather. I More...
It is not a dark journey through horrible descriptions of a pedophile. Instead it is a story about courage, love, betrayal and forgiveness. Tracy Ross is an incredibly strong and brave woman to go out on that limb and write a memoir about her family and the abuse she endured from the hands of her stepfather. I More...
Apr 09, 2011
Jenna
rated it:
I received this book as a giveaway, and it was also an Advance Reader's Edition.
It was a quick and easy read. I appreciated the author's honesty and willingness to put her story out there. I found some similarities and parallels between her life and mine, and her bravery in confronting her demons was motivating.
I would reccomend the book in general...the content revolves around sexual abuse, and that is a difficult subject for some people to look at directly. I know many More...
It was a quick and easy read. I appreciated the author's honesty and willingness to put her story out there. I found some similarities and parallels between her life and mine, and her bravery in confronting her demons was motivating.
I would reccomend the book in general...the content revolves around sexual abuse, and that is a difficult subject for some people to look at directly. I know many More...
Nov 16, 2011
Natalie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Mar 12, 2011
Mary (BookHounds)
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This is one of the best memoirs I have read this year and I read a lot of memoirs. I was truly amazed that Tracy Ross could write such a moving story of her life and the courage to publish it. It is a true story of survival and how nature can help restore the human spirit. I was enthralled with how she captured her surroundings and made minor characters come to life. Her story is one that should inspire others to overcome their own heartache.
I don't know if I could survive the ab More...
I don't know if I could survive the ab More...
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Mar 20, 2011
Jamie
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To read more of my reviews, please visit my book review blog, Bookerella
I received this book for free through Shelf Awareness and was so eager to start reading it. As much as I love fiction, I also love reading true stories because there's no better way to be able to connect with characters than when you know they actually exist. Tracey Ross appears to have a good life when she was very small, living with her loving mom and older brother. Her dad died on a hiking trip when she was a More...
I received this book for free through Shelf Awareness and was so eager to start reading it. As much as I love fiction, I also love reading true stories because there's no better way to be able to connect with characters than when you know they actually exist. Tracey Ross appears to have a good life when she was very small, living with her loving mom and older brother. Her dad died on a hiking trip when she was a More...
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Apr 24, 2011
I wanted to like the book. The cover, and poetic title, were certainly subjectively likeable enough.
The writing never flowed for me. I didn't get a good sense of the narrator, and it was hard to get past what felt like a scarcity of language, not of indulgence or divulgence, not a spare economy of language, but simply that the book never gained traction nor momentum.
Everything seemed built, cobbled together, around the recorded conversation between woman and man, stepdau More...
The writing never flowed for me. I didn't get a good sense of the narrator, and it was hard to get past what felt like a scarcity of language, not of indulgence or divulgence, not a spare economy of language, but simply that the book never gained traction nor momentum.
Everything seemed built, cobbled together, around the recorded conversation between woman and man, stepdau More...
Mar 12, 2011
Kristin (Kritters Ramblings)
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A memoir that was I excited to receive, but was disappointed as I read it. A story of abuse and forgiveness, but I had the hardest time wrapping my head around the events that happened in this woman's life. At many points I had to continue to remind myself that this was a true story and this woman exists.
As a whole I enjoyed the book. I didn't understand her ability to forget and allow her parents to continue on unpunished and unaffected by the events that happened in her family. The More...
As a whole I enjoyed the book. I didn't understand her ability to forget and allow her parents to continue on unpunished and unaffected by the events that happened in her family. The More...
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Mar 31, 2011
Tracy
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As a young girl, Tracy Ross was sexually abused by her stepfather. This is her story. It's a story about how a man can destroy a childhood and how that child is changed irrevocably- confused between love and hate, wanting everything to be normal again, yet knowing there is no normal. Tracy Ross was desperately looking for a savior and she didn't find it even after she was brave enough to tell. Her mother didn't save her and the "system" didn't save her. Eventually she had to find her o
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Apr 08, 2011
Susan
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Update: I received a finished copy of the book, and although I didn't completely re-read the book, it looks like the editing errors that I found annoying have been corrected.
Tracy Ross, as a young child, dearly loved her stepfather, more a real father to her than her biological father who died when she was an infant. Until, that is, he started sexually abusing her. She continued to love him, but her love was mixed with hate and confusion. And this conflict colored the rest of h More...
Tracy Ross, as a young child, dearly loved her stepfather, more a real father to her than her biological father who died when she was an infant. Until, that is, he started sexually abusing her. She continued to love him, but her love was mixed with hate and confusion. And this conflict colored the rest of h More...
Apr 27, 2011
Dale
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As sexual/drug/alcohol abuse memoirs go, this book stands out, not so much because it is better or worse than others, but because the author's approach is very different. She vaguely remembers the beginning of being abused by her (step)father at age 8, but has only fuzzy impressions of the abuse into her teen years. The reason for that is a major surprise (and spoiler) which the reader cannot see coming. She weaves tales of her shared love of nature with her father and her struggle to make a rel
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Mar 18, 2011
Zoë
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The Source of All Things by Tracy Ross is a memoir centering around the fact that as a young child Ross was repeatedly abused by her stepfather- the man she called Dad since her biological father had passed away when she was only seven months old. Ross loved the new man in her life who filled out her family and did wonderful things like taking them camping in the wilderness. That all changed when she was first sexually abused at only eight years old on a camping trip. It was the first of dozens
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Mar 07, 2011
Kathy
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I received this book as an advance reading copy from Free Press and let me state that it is definitely five stars.
Tracy was molested but never penetrated by her stepfather from the time she was eight until she was fifteenish. The memoir takes you through her trials an tribulations. Tracy talks about how she was not given the proper tools and how to this day she doesn't trust her "daddy" around her sons. She gets up the nerve to try and confront her stepfather on a hiking trip More...
Tracy was molested but never penetrated by her stepfather from the time she was eight until she was fifteenish. The memoir takes you through her trials an tribulations. Tracy talks about how she was not given the proper tools and how to this day she doesn't trust her "daddy" around her sons. She gets up the nerve to try and confront her stepfather on a hiking trip More...
Jul 27, 2011
Sherrie
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This was a very hard book to read as I saw what was happening to Tracy. It was also a very moving book. Traveling the path to recovery with Tracy. The confrontation of her father is very hard but Tracy does it to get her healing started. Few survivors are able to find the support and the courage to heal. But Tracy does that beautifully with this book. There were some times when I was reading this book that I wanted to cry and other times when I smiled. Tracy takes you along with her as she finds
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May 05, 2011
Barbara
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This book was almost a 5-star winner for me. However, I felt that the author seemed to jump around, slow down to a mere crawl, and change her story too many times for me to consciously be able to give the book a full 5 stars.
Aside from the somewhat frustrating/annoying writing style (which could be due to the fact that this is a pre-release read that I won as a First Reads Giveaway, and therefore has not been properly edited yet) this book provides a unique (at least to me) set of opin More...
Aside from the somewhat frustrating/annoying writing style (which could be due to the fact that this is a pre-release read that I won as a First Reads Giveaway, and therefore has not been properly edited yet) this book provides a unique (at least to me) set of opin More...
Apr 09, 2011
Sandra
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Forgiveness is often the hardest thing to do, yet it is also one of the most liberating things. Forgiving the man who sexually abused you is almost unheard of. Tracy Ross has written a heart-wrenching story that takes us into the darkest part of her life. Through her eyes we are shown her life, her pain and her survival. Her first outdoor experiences with her step-father are the experiences she retreats to as she begins to explore and try to understand the situation. The outdoors is her saf
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Apr 30, 2011
Calla Rose
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I received this book pre-release via goodreads...always excited to get a book in the mail I dove in immediately. I will say this is not a book you can read in one sitting. It delves very much into the difficult world of sexual abuse, however, the author's quest (and sometimes need) to seek healing in peace in nature was so honest and well written. I was really glad she didn't try to make everything seem okay. She was really honest about her struggles as a result of the abuse, even the unexpected
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Jul 23, 2011
Kwinks
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I found about this one from Whole Living Magazine. It was really wonderful. Tracy Ross writes like she is sitting at the kitchen table with you and is just telling you her story. I could not put it down. She is so brave and I loved reading how she rescued herself from a really bad situation. It made me wish I was more connected to nature. Does drinking half the world's supply of coffee count?
Highly recommended for fans of The Glass Castle, Fierce: A Memoir, and The Girl's Guide to Ho More...
Highly recommended for fans of The Glass Castle, Fierce: A Memoir, and The Girl's Guide to Ho More...
Apr 11, 2011
Jennifer (JSweetieXO)
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 04, 2011
Tania
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This book was very moving. Throughout it Tracy tells of her struggles with the sexual abuse her step-father who she sees as her father put her through. However she is in a struggle because she feels like he is a hero from the days before the abuse but a disgusting beast after that she still loves. There are times when I feel she is being to hard on him, yet I put myself in her place and completely understand her position.
Tracy runs away at the age of 14 to escape the abuse and e More...
Tracy runs away at the age of 14 to escape the abuse and e More...
May 17, 2011
Glenda
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Tracy Ross confronts her step-father while hiking in Redfish Lake, Idaho, with a tape recorder, demanding a confession. The crime: her own sexual abuse by the very man she had cared for and loved since she was a little girl. The Source of All Things is a memoir about Tracy's struggle to understand the childhood abuse she suffered at the hands of her step-father and how she finds salvation in the raw, natural world.
Ross is an incredibly strong woman to be able to tell such a personal and pa More...
Ross is an incredibly strong woman to be able to tell such a personal and pa More...
Mar 09, 2011
Paula
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Ross was subjected to inappropriate touching and physical contact by her stepfather. Although she herself seems unclear about the particulars, she knows it negatively impacted her mental health. This book is that antithesis of what I love about memoirs. The prose is spare and workmanlike. There is nothing poetic or evocative about any of Ross' descriptions of time and place--she leans heavily on overused adjectives and similies. She may have undergone a journey of self discovery, but the reader
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Jan 16, 2011
Barbara
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This was an advanced copy of the book which will come out in March. The author had ties to Idaho and Alaska so I thought it would be interesting and topical. It was difficult to read at times since it is the story of her step-father as Tracy's sexual abuser. As I continued to read, I felt the author was having a cathartic experience through her writing until the very end in the Acknowledgement section. She thanked a number of people and then her step-father for "having the grace to let me
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Mar 20, 2011
Tara
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One of the best memoirs I've read!
She was a toddler who lost her father, then an eight-year-old sexually abused by her stepfather, then a teenager pulled between a family’s love and their corrosive secret. Even as a precocious little girl growing up in Twin Falls, Idaho, author Tracy Ross had guts. She still does, and the former staff editor at Skiing and Backpacker magazines proves it in a chronicle of her own hardcore life lessons delivered with a combination of biting honesty and un More...
She was a toddler who lost her father, then an eight-year-old sexually abused by her stepfather, then a teenager pulled between a family’s love and their corrosive secret. Even as a precocious little girl growing up in Twin Falls, Idaho, author Tracy Ross had guts. She still does, and the former staff editor at Skiing and Backpacker magazines proves it in a chronicle of her own hardcore life lessons delivered with a combination of biting honesty and un More...
Jul 01, 2011
Beth
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 30, 2011
Ginny
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This memoir reads like a novel. It held my interest from beginning to end. It explores the author's journey through life as the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Tracy finds her salvation in nature - in some of the most stunning places in the world. The description of her journeys provide a beautiful backdrop to such a difficult story.
