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Suzanne R. Krauss seems like your average suburban mom - happy, involved in the community, and incredibly personable. No one would have ever guessed her past . . . a childhood filled with alcoholism, anti-Semitism, physical and sexual abuse, set in the backdrop of Las Vegas's underworld and glamorous casinos. Olivia is a mother who leaves her life as a Philadelphia housewife behind and moves to Las Vegas to follow her dream. Among other setbacks, she encounters mobsters, casino owners, Ponzi schemers, but it is all worth it, when her dream becomes a reality and she lands the lead in the famous Les Follies Bergere at the Tropicana. Things move along well for months until Olivia meets a man she decides to marry . . . in just under three days . . . a man who nearly destroys her family over the course of six years. Suzanne has shared her story for those who feel that they can't share theirs. She wants them to know they do not have to fall prey to their history - that they can rise above it to live productive, happy lives - and that relationships can and do heal.
It sounds as though the author has complete forgiveness and compassion for her mother, who put her and her siblings through significant childhood trauma. This is admirable. The book is a real page-turner because Mama's obviously headed down a dead-end street and she keeps making disastrous snap decisions. Shortly in, you begin to wonder just how far down that street she's willing to take her family before they hit the brick wall.Then the gun comes out.This book gave me chills. It also gave me the same feeling as "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. You want to slap the parents at the same time you find yourself rooting for the kids. When the two sisters finally confront their mother, saying "We're leaving. You can stay if you want to," the reader applauds the courage of children in the process of being actively robbed of their childhoods.There were some things, as in Walls' book, that placed her mother beyond the pale of redemption for me. There are questions I believe the author and her mother will, if not consciously, wrestle with for the rest of their lives. The author is a born writer and a very bright little girl. She has to walk a tightrope in this memoir and she does an admirable job. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time for the sheer courage and compassion of its narrative. The author deserves all the happiness she enjoys today.Five Stars. Great Read!
