With or Without You

With or Without You:  A Memoir by Domenica Ruta is the story of how a young girl (raised by a very troubled women), realizes as an adult that the only way to save herself is to leave behind the one she can't seem to quit.

Oh, how I am drawn to a memoir about troubled families.  I don't know why I find them so engrossing but I do.  In this case, Ruta mostly talks about her dysfunctional relationship with her drug addicted, narcissistic and manipulative mother.

It was well written, authentic and brought up the proper emotions that the stories she was telling elicited.  Like many memoirs, it goes back and forth in time and tells stories that are painful to read.  I think what I enjoyed most about Ruta's style is how her personality really comes through.  A lot of times when I'm reading memoirs, it feels like the author is telling you about what happened but not about how it sits with them today.  I felt like the brokenness of Ruta was tangible to the last page and beyond.  Definitely a good read if you are into memoirs.