My Father's Keeper

by Julie Gregory

A powerful and compelling memoir of growing up with a schizophrenic father, who hid his mental illness behind a charismatic larger-than-life, gluttonous personality and found logical explanations for the most bizarre ways of thinking. As a child Julie was close to her father. More friend than parent, he would belt her into their tiny car and they'd punch through yellow lights, scarf down candy bars before supper and had their own way of making fun of Julie's mother in a secret language of eye-rolling. She adored her father for his exuberance, and pitied him when he broke down in suicidal desperation. But as she neared 10, a darker side emerged: her father could switch instantly from squeaking out a tear as they harmonized to "Hey Jude" in the car, to pulling his loaded pistol on the man that asked for change in the McDonald's drive-thru as they waited. The isolation that came with the family's move to the country saw the wacky, unorthodox elements of her father's denied mental illness take a back seat to paranoid fear. Her father would tell her any boy who befriended her was just pretend-acting until he could rape her, and Julie came to fear all boys and men. He fell ever deeper into paranoid delusions that his daughter was sexually active, prostituting herself, sneaking out at night to sleep with black men. When Julie was 14 her father attempted suicide and was placed in a locked psychiatric ward. Julie was made to testify against her father, and when he was released he became convinced she had turned on him. Julie became the target of his ever more paranoid delusions. Julie left home before 18 but her father's schizophrenic behaviour bled over into her own life: if she couldn't find the hairdryer, she would check for signs of entry. When it later turned up, she would wonder how the thief broke back in to return it. Confused, lost and damaged from years spent as the only confidante of her paranoid schizophrenic father, but determined to survive, Julie was finally able to come to terms with her father. She was her father's keeper, and always would be

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Julie Gregory is an American author of Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood, an autobiographical account of the Münchausen syndrome by proxy abuse she suffered as a child.

Reviews

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Source: I got this book out from the library

First sentence: I was born on the day of Liberace, May 16th to be exact, The Day of Outrageous Flair.

This book is a true story written in first person as Julie Gregory, it is about her growing up with her father who was schizophrenic, and an unstable mother, it starts from when she was very young through to her growing up into an adult.

Julie feels as though she has to protect her father from everything in order to keep his temperament even, she grew up not knowing about her dads condition and just treated him as though he was a delicate man that need her protection, she felt he relied on her, she promised him that she would always be there for him.

Julie and her brother spent a lot of their time refereeing their parent’s arguments and suffering the consequences of these arguments.

Her father was a slobbish man with an irritating personality, very racist and a bully Julie was always embarrassed by him in public, her mother was unstable and irritated me highly through out the book which was the intention by the author.

I would say the first half of the book was quite slow paced and filled out with a lot of unnecessary detail, I had no clue her father was schizophrenic until during the second half of the book then blam all of a sudden the symptoms are then mentioned, having grown up around my grandmother who was schizophrenic and having experienced her both medicated and un-medicated i could relate to the symptoms but I could not understand why his symptoms were mentioned so late in the book after her writing all about her childhood growing up with her father as though everything was fine then later contradicting herself by mentioning all these things he used to do and all the abuse he had dished out, this made the book come across all jumbled the story was not told sequentially and it did not flow.

I felt that the story that Julie relayed could have been more clearly written, her story is interesting and sad but was ruined by her style of writing I am afraid to say.

There were some confusion in parts as she would skip back and forth to events happening in her life in the past and present and I would be thinking hang on a minute what is she talking about now and realise that she has flicked back into her past. Her approach to relaying her story was long winded is how I can sum it up.

During the second half some significant things start to happen but I did not find myself upset at any time the most shocking part of the book was the racism and the N word being used frequently throughout I found this very offensive, but given that it is a true story and if that was what was said then I have accept that.

In the final few chapters of the book there are noticeable spelling mistakes that had been overlooked which is a shame. Also the picture on the over of the book does not resemble Julie as she describes herself to look completely different I found this slightly disappointing because when you are reading someone's true story and there is a picture of the supposed person on the front you would expect it to at least resemble the author.

By the time I finished reading the book I felt like Julie was a troubled friend of mine who’s problems I have listened to in-depth, her story was very troubled yes but I would not say heart breaking enough to make me cry, maybe she should of left her story at her first book Sickened which I have not read but know a bit about. I struggled with this book and am sorry to not be able to give it a glowing review seeing as it is someone’s true story but I like to be honest about what I think about a book so there it is.

[Zeina Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was such a horrible book. I had a really hard time sticking to it but I had to finish it just because I bought it. It had no plot and the stupidest ending ever

[Ashikkin Nor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. It's the writer's summary of her once difficult life so it was a mere narration of what happened.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot relate to Julie. At all. Even when I try, I cannot. I am the kind of person who believes that we all have our own hell to face. We deal with the pain and suffering in our own ways. But, I cannot find myself to pity Julie at all, even when I tried even when I want to. It was a sad story, a recollection of a broken childhood past that could have easily made others cry or wish that they could have been there to save her somehow. Not I.

Though it was beautifully written, it felt as if it was unreal. I'm not saying that it was fake, it was just so. I do not know Julie Gregory, I can even begin to understand her fear when she was a child or how she overcome all of it.

[Michelle Mckenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every female wants to be Daddy's little girl. This book deserves a 5 star rating because it eloquently captures a little girl's undying love for her father. This book will definitely bring you to tears, but in the end it'll be worth it.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book for books-sake. An easy-read about an unfortunate life. I have read more harrowing life-stories, this didn't quite touch my heart. There was a lot of repetition and also a lack of consistency (Carol or Carole?).

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read this book Because the first one was such an eye opener. I am so disappointed by this book. There was no order. It was always changing.
I was amazed at how there wasn't a link between the two books. It was just casually mentioned towards the end. it was like it had never happened

[Dodoworld · Rating 1 out of 5]

Done. . so silly

[Rachael · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldnt finish this - it bored me

[Sue Heald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a lot more difficult to get into than the author's first book - "Sickened", however it was a testament to the author that she survived the trauma with strength and courage.

[Catherine Venter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me feel bad sad and mad. How unbelievably insane that we let children live with such dysfunctional realities. No man!!! The fact that this is a true story made me feel really terrible and concerned and incapacitated to help.
I gave it a 3 only because of the way I felt but it is really a 3 and half rating I think . Another mind blowing conundrum is Julie choosing a similar life partner and loving him ! ( that was the mad bit for me)

[Gail Danks · Rating 5 out of 5]

First class writing

[Bridget DeYoung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was disappointed after reading her first book. This one just isn’t feel like it was finished or edited. Like a first draft.

[Alisha Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: My Father's Keeper
Series: -
Author: Julie Gregory
Genre: True Story
Rating: 3 stars

Based on a true story, we are given the chance to see inside the lives of others, and for a little while experience what Julie Gregory experienced. This story details the reality of living with a Schizophrenic father. Not a bad read. If you have any interest in mental illness and the effects it has on people's lives this is one you should read.

[Sharon Heathfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

real hard going book. struggled to keep on reading it

[See Wan · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't really relate the head and the toe...