A Very Distressing Read (Scarred: She Was a Slave to Her Father, Pain Was Her Only Escape - Sophie Andrews)

Member Name: MrsDave

Product:	Scarred: She Was a Slave to Her Father, Pain Was Her Only Escape - Sophie Andrews
Date:	31/05/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Educational, interesting and personal

Disadvantages: The conclusion left me with a lot of questions

I like to read real life stories from time to time, as I like to get involved with things from outside of my comfort zone and possibly learn something new. I especially like it when the subject is people who have been hurt but bounced back, as was allegedly the case with Sophie Andrew's book Scarred.

Scarred tells the story of a young girl who was adopted into a loving family that quickly went a bit wrong. Mother did not really relate to Sophie, and Father loved Sophie a little bit too much. Before long, Sophie finds herself being used and abused by not only her Father but the friends he was bringing home to rape her as well. Eventually, at the age of 16 Sophie was committed to a psychiatric hospital where she was gradually confronted by her demons. Sophie was a self-harmer who had turned on herself along with everybody else.

I found this a really engaging book to read to begin with. Discovering the journey Sophie had been on was utterly heart-wrenching. No child should ever have to go through the horrific things that poor girl went through. Some of the worst experiences were glossed over to spare the reader, but I still found it hard to seperate myself from some of the truly terrible things that poor child had to endure. Reading even short descriptions about how she had to block out the pain of having sharp objects inserted into her, turned my stomach.

What I really didn't like about this book though was that it does not particularly inspire hope into girls who have been in similar situations. Sophie's adopted Father was never bought to justice, and even as a young adult we saw Sophie going back to him time and again. The Samaritans were aware of her plight but could not breach her confidentiality by coming forwards and telling the police what she had and was still going through at any point. The Samaritans involvement was considerably more in Sophie's life than it would be today, as it included face-to-face meetings with Sophie and first name contacts which would not be allowed by today's Samaritans.

One of the saddest things about this book, aside from Sophie's adoptive Father never facing justice, was that the help that was extended to Sophie revolved around her being told to change. I know it is true what they say that you cannot change other people, only yourself, but I feel that this book was written in a way that did not suggest this clearly. Instead, it felt more like Sophie had to change because she was the problem, which should never be the case where child abuse is concerned.

But eventually Sophie did change nevertheless, and she eventually realised with the help of her Samaritan friends that it was time to realise her Father did not love her - he abused her. And coupled with reaching adulthood, this enabled her to move on and build a life for herself. The true extent of her life is not made clear in the book, though I expect that this is in part to protect Sophie's real identity. All we really know about what happened to Sophie in the end is that she became an important part of the Samaritans herself.

I do not know whether or not I would recommend this book to others. It was an interesting read in places, and of course I was torn to read of Sophie's horrific experiences. But I did not feel I really learned anything from this book, and I was mortified to realise that her adoptive Father may have actually committed other acts of child abuse on other children that Sophie was not aware of. That is the problem with not bringing child abusers to justice. I also felt that this book did not leave me feeling particularly inspired. It is not clear whether or not Sophie truly ever did stop self-harming, and it is not strange to think that even as an adult she never really moved away from her awful childhood experiences. We know that Sophie went to work with the Samaritans, but we do not get to hear if she had a family, or made any good friendships, or went on any exhilerating holidays. We do not get to hear if Sophie ever got the opportunity to become anything more than the child who used to be raped by her Father.

Summary: You have to decide if this is one that you would like to read.