Greg Abandoned’s review of Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice > Likes and Comments
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I agree in particular about the parts where you’re “yanked” out of the narrative for the “let’s talk about happy stuff now” that interrupts the story. I found that so annoying and disruptive, like I was being treated with kid gloves as the reader. You articulated it very well.
The stops and starts are what give the story it's reality. This is how survivors talk. It's not like a person narrating a true crime podcast where the worse things get, the funnier and campier it is. She's trying to show that she is not just the bad experiences, but the good. And her target audience is people who may have experienced trauma of their own. It's like she's building in a trigger warning system.
She tries to protect anyone vulnerable. And it's horrifying on every page that no one was there to protect her in the same way.
I'm so sad for her that she didn't get more happiness especially at the end of her life. But telling this story--at all--clearly had a price.
She tells it not for crime buffs...but for fellow victims.
Actually I appreciated the breaks in the story- I needed those breathers. And I needed to hear her total story still finishing the book but those stories that ‘finish’ where the public interest might wane, don’t tell the entire story and I want to know how she survived and coped and managed to move forward in any way.
There is a genre out there called trauma porn, if that's what you are looking for. Let survivors tell their stories in their own ways. If you read books or sat through some seminars about trauma, especially victims of SA, you would know none of this is at all surprising. You having a pet nickname for Ghislaine Maxwell on the other hand....that's certainly something to be taken aback by.
⬆️⬆️⬆️G-Max is what Maxwell called herself.
G-Max is a great way to transform someone into a legend. Almost sounds like a fan.
FFS, call her by the name.
I don't agree with your remarks about the first and second halves of the book. I found the second part even more distressing than the first, because it laid out in full, tragic detail how excruciatingly difficult it is for a woman to recover from that abuse and betrayal, no matter how determined she is. And in the end she couldn't go on. I'm an elderly man, and this book broke my heart--but it needed to be read and I'm glad I did.
I think, as a survivor myself, we need those breaks not to crumble. I just started listening to this on audio books and I am having a problem with the narrators sickens sweet voice and also the lovey dovey hubby parts because he physically abused her. She probably fought back but still I understand she needed to believe her children life was so much better than her childhood. I wish the ghost writer had left her explanation of Robbie till the end. Because now every time I hear his name I am immediately triggered.
Excellent review. This book was uneven and hard to read yet compulsive in its own way.
Being a victim of abuse, I had no skepticism. The skeptics have no clue what it is like to untangle the web of early childhood trauma.
I'm also skeptical by nature. I completely 100% believe the Epstein stuff happened. I absolutely believe this woman was raped and abused by powerful men (and women).
But this is a woman who told us throughout the book how awesome her marriage/life was, and we know now that isn't true. So what else did she fudge? I am skeptical about the stuff with her father and the first experience with the limo that just HAPPENED upon her on the curb. And the stuff with the boarding school honestly sounds like she read about it and adopted it as her own. I feel like she retconned some of the Epstein stuff, like how it was her big dream to be a masseuse. Seriously? I think she knew more about what she going into, but that doesn't change the fact she was 16 and a kid.
Also, has anyone else said that Epstein threatened to kill a family member if they left? Not necessarily doubting, just wondering because I found that odd.
I actually googled G-Max because I didn’t get it until I came back to the comments. Great name.
I was a victim of abuse, yet still had a touch of skepticism. It evaporated pretty quickly. I definitely needed the breaks, this is a heavy story. My heart breaks for the little girl that experienced such trauma. Everyone failed her. In every stage of her life.
Kenzie wrote: "There is a genre out there called trauma porn, if that's what you are looking for. Let survivors tell their stories in their own ways. If you read books or sat through some seminars about trauma, e..."
G-Max was Maxwell's nickname for herself. You can question this reviewer for using it instead of her full name but they didn't make it up.
Patti wrote: "I'm also skeptical by nature. I completely 100% believe the Epstein stuff happened. I absolutely believe this woman was raped and abused by powerful men (and women).
But this is a woman who told u..."
I am not skeptical of her abuse...but I DO also have many questions about her marriage and what really transpired to end her life. She proves she is a fighter her entire life, and the fight to BRING down Epstein was almost as traumatic as her first round with him. That being said, her children were almost adults, she got a settlement she could live comfortably on, and she seemed determined to live for the future instead of the past. So WHY end her life now?
I feel like there is another story we still need to hear. Why would her husband try to keep her from seeing her children?
I'm currently on 35 of the 38 chapters and tbh I find myself struggling with these last chapters for the reasons you state. In fact your whole review is on point for me.
i have mixed feelings. it surprised me though if it is true, she must have a really good memory. after hearing the story about the bus accident before her death and how she seemed to exaggerate about that seems weird. we may never know though, because she's surrounded by so many powerful people things could be fabricated for their advantage
I think the second half is for those who have also been through similar traumas, hoping to reach them and tell them they aren't alone and can seek/find healing. That second half (seeing as it is a memoir after all) is just as important as her beginnings, if not more. It's potential hope for others.
Agreed! Trauma impacts the brain. Virginia understandably had PTSD and even without that, it's difficult to recount exact details decades later. Especially continuing to experience trauma. "The Body Keeps the Score" explains the impacts of trauma well. This is also a book highlighting misogyny and how victims are literally interrogated (E. Jean Carroll went through this when taking Trump to trial for r*ping her) while having to recount their trauma over and over to defense attorneys trying to poke holes in their story in any way, demean them, and sabotage their credibility. If you've experienced abuse especially by a narcissist or sociopath, it makes more sense. If you've tried to come up against a powerful man as a woman, it's also understandable. I was assaulted by a male massage therapist decades ago and a male attorney told me it's pointless to try to pursue anything (I only consulted with an attorney because my mom pushed me to) because I gave him my number at the end of the massage when he asked me for it. I only gave it to him because I was in freeze state and was terrified to not appease him since he clearly did whatever he wanted, without consent. I just wanted to GTFO of there as fast as possible. I told him I had a boyfriend and he still took advantage of me in a vulnerable state, alone in a room and naked on a table after I put my trust in him. Turns out I wasn't the first one he had done this to. F all the men who think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want.
This was SUCH A GOOD review and EXACTLY how I felt! I’d like to copy paste please 🤣
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Oct 24, 2025 09:10AM
I agree in particular about the parts where you’re “yanked” out of the narrative for the “let’s talk about happy stuff now” that interrupts the story. I found that so annoying and disruptive, like I was being treated with kid gloves as the reader. You articulated it very well.
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The stops and starts are what give the story it's reality. This is how survivors talk. It's not like a person narrating a true crime podcast where the worse things get, the funnier and campier it is. She's trying to show that she is not just the bad experiences, but the good. And her target audience is people who may have experienced trauma of their own. It's like she's building in a trigger warning system.She tries to protect anyone vulnerable. And it's horrifying on every page that no one was there to protect her in the same way.
I'm so sad for her that she didn't get more happiness especially at the end of her life. But telling this story--at all--clearly had a price.
She tells it not for crime buffs...but for fellow victims.
Actually I appreciated the breaks in the story- I needed those breathers. And I needed to hear her total story still finishing the book but those stories that ‘finish’ where the public interest might wane, don’t tell the entire story and I want to know how she survived and coped and managed to move forward in any way.
There is a genre out there called trauma porn, if that's what you are looking for. Let survivors tell their stories in their own ways. If you read books or sat through some seminars about trauma, especially victims of SA, you would know none of this is at all surprising. You having a pet nickname for Ghislaine Maxwell on the other hand....that's certainly something to be taken aback by.
⬆️⬆️⬆️G-Max is what Maxwell called herself.
G-Max is a great way to transform someone into a legend. Almost sounds like a fan.FFS, call her by the name.
I don't agree with your remarks about the first and second halves of the book. I found the second part even more distressing than the first, because it laid out in full, tragic detail how excruciatingly difficult it is for a woman to recover from that abuse and betrayal, no matter how determined she is. And in the end she couldn't go on. I'm an elderly man, and this book broke my heart--but it needed to be read and I'm glad I did.
I think, as a survivor myself, we need those breaks not to crumble. I just started listening to this on audio books and I am having a problem with the narrators sickens sweet voice and also the lovey dovey hubby parts because he physically abused her. She probably fought back but still I understand she needed to believe her children life was so much better than her childhood. I wish the ghost writer had left her explanation of Robbie till the end. Because now every time I hear his name I am immediately triggered.
Excellent review. This book was uneven and hard to read yet compulsive in its own way.
Being a victim of abuse, I had no skepticism. The skeptics have no clue what it is like to untangle the web of early childhood trauma.
I'm also skeptical by nature. I completely 100% believe the Epstein stuff happened. I absolutely believe this woman was raped and abused by powerful men (and women).But this is a woman who told us throughout the book how awesome her marriage/life was, and we know now that isn't true. So what else did she fudge? I am skeptical about the stuff with her father and the first experience with the limo that just HAPPENED upon her on the curb. And the stuff with the boarding school honestly sounds like she read about it and adopted it as her own. I feel like she retconned some of the Epstein stuff, like how it was her big dream to be a masseuse. Seriously? I think she knew more about what she going into, but that doesn't change the fact she was 16 and a kid.
Also, has anyone else said that Epstein threatened to kill a family member if they left? Not necessarily doubting, just wondering because I found that odd.
I actually googled G-Max because I didn’t get it until I came back to the comments. Great name.
I was a victim of abuse, yet still had a touch of skepticism. It evaporated pretty quickly. I definitely needed the breaks, this is a heavy story. My heart breaks for the little girl that experienced such trauma. Everyone failed her. In every stage of her life.
Kenzie wrote: "There is a genre out there called trauma porn, if that's what you are looking for. Let survivors tell their stories in their own ways. If you read books or sat through some seminars about trauma, e..."G-Max was Maxwell's nickname for herself. You can question this reviewer for using it instead of her full name but they didn't make it up.
Patti wrote: "I'm also skeptical by nature. I completely 100% believe the Epstein stuff happened. I absolutely believe this woman was raped and abused by powerful men (and women).But this is a woman who told u..."
I am not skeptical of her abuse...but I DO also have many questions about her marriage and what really transpired to end her life. She proves she is a fighter her entire life, and the fight to BRING down Epstein was almost as traumatic as her first round with him. That being said, her children were almost adults, she got a settlement she could live comfortably on, and she seemed determined to live for the future instead of the past. So WHY end her life now?
I feel like there is another story we still need to hear. Why would her husband try to keep her from seeing her children?
I'm currently on 35 of the 38 chapters and tbh I find myself struggling with these last chapters for the reasons you state. In fact your whole review is on point for me.
i have mixed feelings. it surprised me though if it is true, she must have a really good memory. after hearing the story about the bus accident before her death and how she seemed to exaggerate about that seems weird. we may never know though, because she's surrounded by so many powerful people things could be fabricated for their advantage
I think the second half is for those who have also been through similar traumas, hoping to reach them and tell them they aren't alone and can seek/find healing. That second half (seeing as it is a memoir after all) is just as important as her beginnings, if not more. It's potential hope for others.
Agreed! Trauma impacts the brain. Virginia understandably had PTSD and even without that, it's difficult to recount exact details decades later. Especially continuing to experience trauma. "The Body Keeps the Score" explains the impacts of trauma well. This is also a book highlighting misogyny and how victims are literally interrogated (E. Jean Carroll went through this when taking Trump to trial for r*ping her) while having to recount their trauma over and over to defense attorneys trying to poke holes in their story in any way, demean them, and sabotage their credibility. If you've experienced abuse especially by a narcissist or sociopath, it makes more sense. If you've tried to come up against a powerful man as a woman, it's also understandable. I was assaulted by a male massage therapist decades ago and a male attorney told me it's pointless to try to pursue anything (I only consulted with an attorney because my mom pushed me to) because I gave him my number at the end of the massage when he asked me for it. I only gave it to him because I was in freeze state and was terrified to not appease him since he clearly did whatever he wanted, without consent. I just wanted to GTFO of there as fast as possible. I told him I had a boyfriend and he still took advantage of me in a vulnerable state, alone in a room and naked on a table after I put my trust in him. Turns out I wasn't the first one he had done this to. F all the men who think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want.
This was SUCH A GOOD review and EXACTLY how I felt! I’d like to copy paste please 🤣
