My Fathers Suitcase, Mary Garden
My Fathers Suitcase, Mary Garden
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My Father's Suitcase
A story of family secrets, abuse, betrayal - and breaking free

Author: Mary Garden

Narrator: Mary Garden

Unabridged: 12 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Justitia Books

Published: 07/23/2024


Synopsis

A gripping tale of resilience and survival that offers hope to others who have experienced family violence and suffered at the hands of a sibling.
A deeply personal and heart-breaking memoir that explores the troubled relationship between Mary Garden and her younger sister, Anna, who died in 2023 after a short illness. Mary unpacks her life of growing up in New Zealand in the 1950s and ’60s, before making Australia home. She reveals complex layers of intergenerational trauma, including the baggage of her eccentric, deeply flawed father and the secret her mother kept from all of them, revealed only after her death. Mary deals movingly with her sister’s long battle with mental illness and how she once saved Anna’s life.
As she unravels these narratives, Mary touches on the guilt and shame familiar to anyone who has had to deal with secrets, violence and ‘madness’ in their family. And she shines a light on sibling abuse, the most common form of abuse in the context of family violence ‒ occurring up to five times as frequently as spousal or parental child abuse ‒ although it is often dismissed as ‘sibling rivalry’. It causes far-reaching, long-lasting harm.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Craig and Phil on March 20, 2024

Thank you Mary for gifting us a copy to read and review. The old adage you can pick your friends but not your family rings very true in this very personal and fascinating account of life in Mary’s family. A suitcase is the physical link to a father, that even in death he is the centre of controversy.......more

Goodreads review by Kathleen on May 04, 2024

The first thing I did on finishing reading My Father’s Suitcase was buy a copy of Mary Garden’s earlier memoir, The Serpent Rising, which I am going to read next. The pattern of Mary’s life was set in train not only by her sister’s mental and physical abuse, but also by her parents’ response to it,......more

Goodreads review by Amy on May 07, 2024

This book left me feeling torn. Torn between feeling sympathy and empathy for the author at how her siblings treated her, but also angry - the last half of the book sounds like Mary finally getting her revenge on her (deceased) sister. Yes, I come from a dysfunctional family. Yes, I suffered sibling......more

Goodreads review by Maggie on April 01, 2024

My Father’s Suitcase is the latest memoir from @garden.mary. It is a transparent and honest account of something that I was not aware of – sibling abuse. This is an astounding story of the violence that the author lived through. From her sibling’s physical and emotional abuse to her family's unwilli......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on October 08, 2024

As a trauma therapist, I loved this book for not just telling us what relational trauma is like but for showing us. It’s in every sentence on every page, bound with such heart-wrenching care. Mary Garden writes with dignity and compassion for others, but the book is a journey towards finding enough......more