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Unravelling Us
What happens after you write a tell-all memoir that reveals your family’s darkest secrets?
Renee McBryde has a really intriguing life story. Her mother and father met when they were living on the streets in Kings Cross. Her mum gave birth to Renee when she was only 15 and Renee’s father was jailed for murder just before she was born. Renee grew up being told over and over again that she had to keep the identity of her father secret and she did ... until it ended up doing her much more harm than good.
In 2017 Renee wrote a book revealing the secret and the impact it had on her and her identity. Little did she know that the book would go on to attract sensational media attention and sell widely across Australia and the UK.
Her second book, Unravelling Us, examines what happens to a family after a tell-all memoir and its accompanying publicity is published. While Renee was busy appearing on 60 Minutes and SBS’s Insight, and being interviewed on radio and for magazines, her previous close-knit family life was imploding.
Unravelling Us delves deeply into the behind the scenes of a family whose dysfunction becomes public knowledge and the impact that has on all of them. It looks at the complex relationships between families, especially mothers and their children, and uses stories from Renee’s work as a social worker and child protection officer in Alice Springs to look at the inherited cycles of abuse and trauma. After having such terrible role models as parents, Renee is fearful she will unconsciously repeat the patterns of parenting that she was exposed to, as she sees it happening all the time in her job. However, she also witnesses moments when a pattern is broken, in her own life and in her work, which gives her hope that her books will be of some help to others.
Renee McBryde has a really intriguing life story. Her mother and father met when they were living on the streets in Kings Cross. Her mum gave birth to Renee when she was only 15 and Renee’s father was jailed for murder just before she was born. Renee grew up being told over and over again that she had to keep the identity of her father secret and she did ... until it ended up doing her much more harm than good.
In 2017 Renee wrote a book revealing the secret and the impact it had on her and her identity. Little did she know that the book would go on to attract sensational media attention and sell widely across Australia and the UK.
Her second book, Unravelling Us, examines what happens to a family after a tell-all memoir and its accompanying publicity is published. While Renee was busy appearing on 60 Minutes and SBS’s Insight, and being interviewed on radio and for magazines, her previous close-knit family life was imploding.
Unravelling Us delves deeply into the behind the scenes of a family whose dysfunction becomes public knowledge and the impact that has on all of them. It looks at the complex relationships between families, especially mothers and their children, and uses stories from Renee’s work as a social worker and child protection officer in Alice Springs to look at the inherited cycles of abuse and trauma. After having such terrible role models as parents, Renee is fearful she will unconsciously repeat the patterns of parenting that she was exposed to, as she sees it happening all the time in her job. However, she also witnesses moments when a pattern is broken, in her own life and in her work, which gives her hope that her books will be of some help to others.
- GenresMemoir
304 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2022
8 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 31, 2023
This is a book for anyone that is or has a mother. It’s hard not to read it and see a mother that you know staring back at you from the page. Sometimes it's a little confronting, but Renee writes with such empathy and knowledge that you can see all sides to the complexity of what being a mother truly is. Especially if you come from a long line of trauma.
Renee spends a lot of time looking at how trauma is a cycle passed down through multiple generations. And there is no one better to write about this than Renee whose own mother and grandmother experienced trauma that affected their abilities to be the mother their children needed or wanted.
Renee lets the reader into the most intimate details about her relationship with her mother.
Gemma is a woman that had Renee as a teen to a murderer who gets life in jail before Renee is even born. Nowadays, there would be social workers and charities knocking on her door, but back then Gemma had nowhere to go but home to a strained relationship with her mother when she needed someone to guide her through those pivotal early years with love. It’s easy to see throughout the book that Gemma really did try to do best by her children, but her own demons and mental health struggles were sometimes too much and she was unable to be the mother her children needed. But Renee writes from such a place that the reader doesn’t walk away shaking their head at Gemma. In fact, I felt a lot of empathy towards her and saw the love that Renee had for her mother, even if she herself (as the eldest sister) was sometimes left to do the mothering and pick up the pieces.
Renee also scatters the book with stories from her work as a social worker, working with different mothers. I think this is a nice touch because it also is another way to show how trauma affects our ability to parent and that sometimes—no matter how hard we do or don’t try—we just can’t get it right.
Sometimes I laughed and sometimes I cried while reading UNRAVELLING US, and there was even a moment where I had to put the book down and walk away.
Renee takes the reader on the journey of a mother and daughter who had to grow up together. She shows us that trauma is generational, but we can change that. And Renee has done just that with her own four children.
Congratulations Renee on another great book!
Renee spends a lot of time looking at how trauma is a cycle passed down through multiple generations. And there is no one better to write about this than Renee whose own mother and grandmother experienced trauma that affected their abilities to be the mother their children needed or wanted.
Renee lets the reader into the most intimate details about her relationship with her mother.
Gemma is a woman that had Renee as a teen to a murderer who gets life in jail before Renee is even born. Nowadays, there would be social workers and charities knocking on her door, but back then Gemma had nowhere to go but home to a strained relationship with her mother when she needed someone to guide her through those pivotal early years with love. It’s easy to see throughout the book that Gemma really did try to do best by her children, but her own demons and mental health struggles were sometimes too much and she was unable to be the mother her children needed. But Renee writes from such a place that the reader doesn’t walk away shaking their head at Gemma. In fact, I felt a lot of empathy towards her and saw the love that Renee had for her mother, even if she herself (as the eldest sister) was sometimes left to do the mothering and pick up the pieces.
Renee also scatters the book with stories from her work as a social worker, working with different mothers. I think this is a nice touch because it also is another way to show how trauma affects our ability to parent and that sometimes—no matter how hard we do or don’t try—we just can’t get it right.
Sometimes I laughed and sometimes I cried while reading UNRAVELLING US, and there was even a moment where I had to put the book down and walk away.
Renee takes the reader on the journey of a mother and daughter who had to grow up together. She shows us that trauma is generational, but we can change that. And Renee has done just that with her own four children.
Congratulations Renee on another great book!
May 27, 2025
Review of Unravelling Us by Renée McBryde
Unravelling Us is one of those rare memoirs that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. I was completely drawn in by Renée McBryde’s raw honesty and her fearless ability to lay bare the truth of her lived experiences. This book is more than just a personal story—it’s an unflinching exploration of the fabric that binds, and sometimes frays, mother-daughter relationships.
Renée’s storytelling is gripping and vulnerable. She doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable parts—the silence, the secrets, the pain—but also shows the strength it takes to face them. The honesty in her writing felt like a gift. As a reader, I felt trusted, as though I was being invited into something sacred.
What I loved most was how she portrayed the complexity of family and legacy. The mother-daughter bond she explores is complicated, heartbreaking, and so deeply real. I found myself thinking about my own relationships as I read, and that’s the mark of powerful storytelling—it makes you reflect, feel, and grow.
This book is raw. It’s honest. And I loved every page of it. Highly recommended for anyone who appreciates memoirs that go deep and speak truth. Renée McBryde is a voice worth listening!
June 28, 2022
Such a moving and heartbreaking read but also inspiring to see how Renee has been able to move past her trauma and become a loving mum/sister/wife/social worker.
I’m going to look for her first book now.
The only thing I would love to know is if little “Nora” got to stay with her loving foster family (what happened to her broke my heart)
I’m going to look for her first book now.
The only thing I would love to know is if little “Nora” got to stay with her loving foster family (what happened to her broke my heart)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2022
utterly and completely real
This is a great book. Renee’s experiences of her mother, her own life, of Alice Springs, her own family, and of her work are fascinating, heartfelt and engaging. Superb.
This is a great book. Renee’s experiences of her mother, her own life, of Alice Springs, her own family, and of her work are fascinating, heartfelt and engaging. Superb.
May 28, 2022
amazing
An amazing , gut wrenching , open and honest account of a mother’s love from a truly inspirational woman. Thank you so much for sharing your life Renee. You gave me so much insight into my relationship with my own Mother.
An amazing , gut wrenching , open and honest account of a mother’s love from a truly inspirational woman. Thank you so much for sharing your life Renee. You gave me so much insight into my relationship with my own Mother.
October 26, 2022
An unflinching memoir about mothering and inter generational trauma. Renee writes from the perspective of a daughter trying (successfully) to break the cycle, while also still embroiled in a complicated family, and working as a social worker in Alice Springs. Highly recommended!
June 30, 2022
Thank you Renee for your heartfelt account of life with and without your mum. It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job raising your own family.
August 28, 2022
What an incredible story. I couldn’t put it down. 5 stars
May 5, 2023
Heart wrenching and tear jerking . But that’s what powerful and effective writing does. I couldn’t put this down.
September 12, 2023
I didn't finish this book because of my personal frustration when reading about the self destructive cycles of behaviour in people and families who have experienced trauma and grief.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2024
4.5 Stars
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews