Her Last Death: A Memoir

Take it or leave it.

This isn't the worst memoir I've ever read, but it's certainly not the highly acclaimed "best seller" it's being marketed as either..

I originally picked up this book because I not only love memoirs, and because I was intrigued by the parallels in my own life. My mother is a pathological liar (has faked cancer and other illnesses), struggled with drug/alcohol abuse and was not only mentally but sometimes physically abusive with my siblings and I. I did find a lot of the parallels I was searching for, especially in the ways her sister reacted to the same upbringing..

However not even a fourth of the way into the book and I was starting to wonder who the liar really was.. The book was startlingly far fetched and just overall unbelievable. I had a very hard time believing most of these events really occurred and found myself waiting for the "trick" ending where the author would let on that she herself masterminded all of these lies and schemes. It seemed like a work of fiction to me, rather than a "memoir".

I will say however that the authors writing and style is uncanny! Truly well written, very great character development as well.

As a lot of other reviews said the book was very over the top inappropriate at times. I personally found that to be fitting of the story line. I can't fathom why anyone who is easily offended by "vulgar" language/sex/drug use would intentionally pick up a copy of a book that is about a negligent mother who is heavily into cocaine and promiscuous sex.

I found the book extremely slow going most of the time. The only thing that got me through at times is the fact that I hate to put a book down halfway through unless it's absolute garbage.

Overall "Her Last Death" has pros and cons which is why I chose to give it a "3 star" rating.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

had me from the first line

I loves this book and was sad to find out there arent anymore by the author. I am an avid reader that doesnt like sappy romantic books or creepy thrillers either. This book had a perfect mix of love, romance, family dysfunction and awesone characters. I am sure i will ead again!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

It was rich with expression and honesty.

Both my daughter and I were so into this book, that we did not want it to end. We wanted more to the story though, we wanted to know what ever happen to Jason!!! It was a true bonding for my daughter and I.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

different but touching

i read this story because i felt, unfortunantely, i could relate. i think this tale is true & to the heart. i would recommend it to anyone who has had mother issues. and i don't mean mother issues in the "normal" sense. i mean mother issues, such as your mother sleeping with your boyfriend. or her offering you drugs & being disappointed if you say no.

susanna's writing is something different though. at times there were incomplete sentences & thoughts. sometimes wondered why certain things were put into the story & found myself trying to ignore certain sentences because they made no sense.

i was also disappointed that there wasn't a resolution in the end. there was no end to what happens with her sister or mother.

all in all, it was a good read but not as good as i had expected.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Memoir at its most vivd

In HER LAST DEATH, Susanna Sonnenberg achieves what I believe the very best memoirs can accomplish. She paints a vivid, living picture, not just of a life but of her relationship with her manic but unbalanced mother, and she does so with prejudice and personal perspective. Memoir is not autobiography at its very best, the genre tells us not the facts and objective observation of the events. Memoir takes us into the heart of the author's experience, and it is its very subjectivity that gives it power. HER LAST DEATH brings the reader into Sonnenberg's internal world, a tumultuous place where both a mother's love and her sanity are always in question. Sonnenberg doesn't flinch from the light when it comes to examining her own stumbles and weaknesses, and when an understanding of her troubled mother's psyche eludes her, as it often does, the author doesn't engage in conjecture or armchair psychoanalysis. Instead, she allows us to experience this inexplicable world with her, and in the end, we are left not so much with a sense of who her mysterious mother might have been, but rather whom the author has ultimately become. In the course of facing a difficult past and its ramifications for her future, Susanna Sonnenberg has shown herself to be an extremely talented writer, and I eagerly await more from her.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Memoir !

This was a very touching memoir about a mother-daughter relationship gone bad, and for very good reason. The author does an excellent job telling her story. This is definitley a must read for anyone raised by dysfunctional parents. Highly recommend it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Um no

I had no idea this was a true story - YIKES - it's extremely hard to imagine any parent as horrible as this author's mother. Shocking. I can't imagine anything of value I learned from reading this book. I was simply curious as to why a child wouldn't want to visit her dying mother ....

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Heartbreaking

This book touched my heart. For those who have lived a 'normal' childhood this book may seem surreal. I happened to have the middle class version of Susannah's mother. Where some people may not understand, there comes a time with a woman like this when you have to say 'enough' even if it does break your own heart. I thank the author for her brutal honestly that sometimes came at her own expense. I wish I had known there were other people like me, living with a force of nature like this, growing up.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I liked it.

I started reading this one day in Barnes & Noble while my baby napped. I was interested enough that I have remembered it for the past year or so. I figured if it was on my mind that long I should just buy it already.
I purchased it as an eBook when I got my nook and enjoyed it. It isn't a life changing book, but it's an interesting read - so it serves its purpose.

A good book to read

"Her Last Death" starts out with an early morning phone call from Susanna's aunt telling her that her mother has been involved in a bad car accident and is in a coma. As early as the age of 8 Susanna's mom talked openly to her daughter about her sex life and would seduce her boyfriends. With her mother as her "role model" she too became like her mother by having an affair with her high school English teacher, and multiple college boyfriends. When meeting her husband Christopher she was able to leave behind a lifestyle like her mothers and lead a life of bliss. Over all I didn't really like the book. It was hard for me to connect to the main character in the book and I didn't really feel that she had that hard of a life. I liked how the author was descriptive in what was going on so it was easy to paint a picture in your head. The author's writing style in the book was descriptive and well written. If you like memoirs about people's crazy and abnormal childhood then this is a book for you. If you like "The Glass Castle" then this is a book for you. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good Memoir

This memoir was good to OK. I don't remember it being too memorable but I did like it ok.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Her Last Death!

A book I recommend is Her Last Death. It was a really good book, at times it got sad and you have to be prepared for it. But I wish the book didnt end the way it ended. Its about a mom who wanted her kids to be her friends instead of her children, but the mom changed from being friends with her children to being a mother and then back again. The mom talked to her kids about sex and drugs. The mom taught her girls what to look for in a man even at the age at 9. She also lied saying she got raped or that she had sex with her childs crush. She just wasnt a good mom, but she tryed. In the end you find out that Susanna (the author)does not want to be her mother. She gets married and has two kids, she just wants to be what a mother/wife should be to her own kids and her husband. I absolutely loved the book! I would read it again. During the book, you just want to scream at the girl (Susanna)or her mom, and say how dump and incompetent that is.

Read if you are bored!

This was entertaining at times, but I couldn't help thinking what did the mother do that was SO wrong? I mean, the mother is odd and made lots of mistakes, and isn't the mother I would want to be, but it wasn't THAT bad and the author just dwells on it all! It's like 'get over it!'

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great first book

Enjoyed account of this woman's life.growing up with an over the top narcisstic mother..Some of the story was almost hard to believe..if you enjoy non fiction this is a great read..

Could barely make it through!!

I barely made it through this book. Much of the book is focused on her mother's sex life and then her own. I can understand hearing about some of it to make a point, but I thought it was too much of the story and kept thinking...'who cares???' I am so not a prude, but I just didn't think there was much to this book. Very disappointing.

Awesome novel!

This book is beautifully written and stirs up so many emotions inside of me. I literally dreaded finishing it and look forward to another book by this writer.

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