Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood

So Real

I loved this book and the way it was written. I loved getting to hear thoughts and emotions as they really occured. So sad and interesting. Definitely a must read.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Very good read

This book is hard to put down, and also hard to read at times as Julie describes the horrific experiences from her childhood that stretch out into her adult life. The strength this author has astounds me. Highly recommend.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Sickened--- Ironic!

After reading this book, I had a life changing epiphany on my interpretation of the world as a whole. I didn't take into account that a disease such as Munchausen by Proxy existed amongst us. I had always pictured abuse as phyisical, but I was off. Munchausen by Proxy is the disease her mother had (often the mother would be the one to have it) but this disease had been excruciatingly emotionally scarring for Julie. I had sympathy toward her the entire book. She had no help within her family. Her dad would sit there with the TV remote in his hand almost shoo-ing her away. Her grandmother would assist Julie's mother in ways that are just..paiful to imagine happening. Given many "headache healers", she needed to be hospitalized yet AGAIN! If one doctor wasn't finding something wrong, she'd be taken to the next. Julie survives through this and grows up with successful recovery. This book is truly inspirational and I believe many should read this to become aware of what could be the reality within your society.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

Sickened is a story about a girl who lives her life by her mother¿s lies. Julie Gregory is made to believe that she is sick and has something wrong with her, but the truth is it¿s her mother who is sick. Her mother, Sandy, has what is called Munchausen¿s By Proxy Syndrome. Since the age of three, Sandy put Julie in and out of the hospital, took her to dozens of pediatricians and put her through un-needed surgeries, all to find an imaginary sickness. She would keep Julie out of school because she would have a feeling Julie wouldn¿t feel good. Almost everyday Julie was feed a little white pill that was supposed to make her headaches go away but all it did was make her nauseous and feel worse. She goes through her whole childhood and most of her teenage years living her mother¿s manipulative ways. Always feeling that it is her fault she is sick. Sandy had a way of making others feel guilty in order to get the attention she wanted. She would always put Julie down and made her feel ugly. Even though Sandy puts Julie down and makes her feel worthless, Julie still loves her mother and says that she has taught her so much. In a way I think that Julie is afraid of the truth and doesn¿t want to accept what happened to her as a child. All of Julie¿s life she is made to felt ugly and sick until her college years when she finds out what the truth is. This book is about overcome the obstacle of life. Julie shows that even though she went through something most children don¿t go through, she is starting a new life and becoming the true Julie Gregory. I really enjoyed this book. When I would start reading it was hard to put down. It opened up my eyes and showed me the ¿real world¿ and how sick some people really are. I think that people should read this book because it illustrates how strong people can be in the toughest situations.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Will read

My birth mother has MSbP...she abused my sister and I both physicaly and sexualy...this is real and scary...luckly niether one of us remembers what happened because we were so young, but my family knows and we were told everything once we were older and showed the proof because it was all hard to believe...even though i was so young I developed post tramatic stress disorder in high school and the docters said it was because of this...I am healthy now and glad to be alive, a lot of children are killed due to MSbP...I have not read this book but I deff will...I want to know how Julie got passed all this and if she forgave her mother...I have yet to forgive mine.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Interesting point of view

I bought this book expecting a detailed story. However that was not the case. While the story itself is very interesting, the way it's written is pretty bland. I would have expected more detail from a story that is so well documented... Not really worth the money...

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A must read

A captivating and horrifying story of a girl's childhood and struggles to move on in life. Great story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Review

Well written and honest.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

WOW!

That is all I can say!
Very well written! Hard to believe what she went through...I only hope she was able to do what she set out to do at the end of the book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sad

Great story, disturbing and sad

Fascinating convincing story that pure evil exists and great that Julie mad it through!

Incredible story of child abuse and how one child survivied. Not always the best written book with some weak areas but still an easy read and absolutely fascinating. Well worth it and I highly recommened this to anyone interested in the human condition. It should be required reading for all doctors and could be used as an argument for centralized medical records shared across practices so that MBP could be detected. Just think of the money wasted on medical care for a well child. Well actually the case made her "sickend".

blah

just could not get into this book, didn't finish it

Xena Maali January 12,2012

Sad,amazing, heroic,page turner,must read, MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!!

Must read

I thought htis is very interesting but at times made you wonder, "Can a parent be that terrible, that mean and still never get caught. Loved the ending it's what you'd call a real pay back.

Confusing, wrong on many basic facts, misleading - Zero stars

I am really confused after reading this. What "operations" did the writer receive other than a nose job? There is a lot of focus on the cardiac cath which is a procedure, involving small incisions, not an operation. What doctor would suggest "open heart sugery" to this patient? It is not called that anymore.. .there are more specific names and it is done to correct an identifiable problem. Psychologists don't prescribe medication so the whole scene with the Indian doc seems fake. How did this friendless woman move huge studio mirrors into a farmhouse alone? These mirrors are huge and expensive, not usually left for salvage. It also bothered me that she now calls herself a graduate student in psychiatry...psychology maybe, but psychiatry is a branch of medicine, practiced by doctors (M.D. or D.O.) not graduate students. And the naked horse riding scene.. what is a "delicious slump?" Yuck.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Aprildawn

It is amazing to see what this poor girl went through at the hands of her own mother and father. I didnt understand the way some of the words are spreaaaad ouuuut throughout the book. Its as if that was the only way to put emphasis on particular words. Overall the book is great, i couldnt put it down!

Jewel57

As always truth is scarier than fiction, a horrorific story of trying to stay sane& alive while living in vast crazyness.I read this in less then2 days,

Great book

Hard to imaging that this condition exists. Grateful that the author shared her story. This is a good read, compelling and hard to put down.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

very true story about a horrible childhood

As someone who knows that this is like it is very true. I remember the first time I read this book I was walking and I said "oh my god its the *****". This book is so good that I will admit that I have 3 copies of it. 2 in Hardcover and I also have it on my NOOK. The way that the mother acted and the way that Julie would have to act I remember having to do that. I went through this for almost 18 years of my life and was only saved when a doctor called the police. Thank god for the police and CPS. If not for them I would be dead and would of been for quite a few years.

compelling

Julie Gregory writes about her childhood in Sickened. It is extremely touching, and a rare story. Julie spends her entire childhood going to doctors because her mother claims she has tons of life threatening symptoms. She also spends many nights getting verbally and physically abused by her mother and father. The book later tells the reader about the disease her mother had that led her to do these things to her child. It follows Julie's life and thoughts as she wonders whether to reconnect with her mom, or continue onto a better and healthier lifestyle. Great read.