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Kim Richardson's story of surviving abuse at the hands of the Catholic nuns of Kentucky's St. Thomas/St. Vincent Orphanage, and later joining the class action suit brought by forty-four survivors, including her two sisters, which ended in victory. This book is about hope, justice, and ultimate forgiveness.
A must read for students entering the field of social work! Thank you, Ms. Richardson, for opening your life and sharing your journey for our betterment. (Dr. Eugene H. Foster, former state child welfare executive)
I first downloaded a sample of the book to my Kindle. When it ended, I thought, Wow! I've got to finish this. So I bought it and couldn't stop turning the pages. It was one of the most powerful reading experiences I've recently had. Life and death. Goodness and evil. These are two of the great themes of literature, and I found them in this memoir.
In memoir, as in fiction, I look for lean, compelling prose, dramatic scenes, credible dialogue, and vivid description. In the hands of a great writer, these "tools" can be powerful. They are powerfully used by Kim Michele Richardson in The Unbreakable Child. I am awed by her writing skills, and by her courage. As a memoir writer myself, I know how difficult and painful it can be to dig into one's past, and yet Richardson does it. She does it for her siblings and for the other children who suffered horrible mental, emotional, and physical abuse. She gives voice to their pain, and I'm glad she did. I want to empathize with those who struggle even if I'm not always in a position to help. I want to empathize, for in the process I can become a more compassionate human being. I believe all of us need to know and feel for those who suffer, and for those who inflict the damage. Often the latter are good people who also need our help and concern. Sometimes good people do bad things. This is how I felt when I read this book that was sometimes difficult to read as the abusive scenes were so vividly dramatized.
That Kim Michele Richardson survived and triumphed over her terrible childhood is a testament to me of the human spirit. Her story is also a testament of the good people who step into the battle, people such as her attorney William McMurry. He, too, fought for the orphans of Thomas/St. Vincent Asylum in rural Kentucky. I can't praise him or Kim enough for speaking out. I was also happy that she had a wonderful husband.
The adult Kim's voice is eloquent.
I can't praise this memoir enough.
I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough. This edition of The Unbreakable Child, published by Behler Publications, is new and expanded, and details Kim's horrific abuse as a child at the hands of the clergy who were supposed to be caring for her and nurturing her, and it also chronicles Kim's work, together with other former orphans, with William McMurray, a strong advocate for victims of clergy and institutional abuse. Kim and other former orphans were the first clergy abuse victims to win a settlement against an order of Catholic nuns. The book is very timely, with new horror stories of clergy abuse coming to light each day.
Kim's story is healing to those who have themselves experienced such horrors, and it is a testament to Kim's spirit, her unbreakable strength, and the power which resides in her heart to forgive. Her story also offers encouragement to people who have suffered abuse, that it is possible to strengthen the broken places and live fully and freely. And last but not least, her book plays a strong and vital role in demanding accountability and apology from the Catholic church, acknowledgement by the Church of the wrongs committed by its clergy to bring about an environment, in all institutions of the Church, in which those wrongs will never be tolerated again.
Kim Michele Richardson is an inspiration and a true heroine.
Anonymous
Posted July 31, 2009
Once in a blue moon there comes a book whose story is so compelling, so filled with truth that you can't seem to put it down-Kim Michelle Richardson's, The Unbreakable Child is definitely one such book. The story is riveting and the writing supreme. I literally felt like I was walking hand in hand with this courageous author as she revealed this startling, yet truly inspiring story of survival. It will touch your heart and open your eyes. If you only read one book this month, this is the one... You will find yourself rooting for justice with each turn of the page!
S. Meredith
StevenF
Posted July 7, 2009
Kim Richardson's story of her abusive childhood, as well as how she has dealt with her past as an adult, is an inspiring story for the professional in the field of child welfare and for the average reader. Her ability to overcome the difficulties of her childhood offer lessons to those in similar circumstances, but also for those who must overcome other obstacles. It has been a long time since I have read a book that I found I just couldn't put down until I had finished it. This is that type of book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I've read a few memoirs dealing with child abuse (A Child Called It, Ten Thousand Sorrows), and while these made me feel sorry for the children in those stories, they never got beyond that. The abuse in them was too difficult to imagine. The accounts were so bleak that I either detached emotionally or found them not fully convincing or both.
With that in mind, I read Kim Richardson's "The Unbreakable Child" because it described the years she spent in a Catholic orphanage. I'd attended a fairly strict Catholic school, so I thought that would give me a way to connect with Kim's story.
I was wrong for two reasons. The first is that other than being run by nuns, there wasn't much the two facilities had in common. The second is that Kim's poignant, realistic memoir formed that emotional connection all by itself. The ill-treatment she went through is brutal but believable; I wanted to curl my fingers inward to hide my nails as I read this book. And the single-sentence description of sexual abuse - touching with the hands rather than the heart - is unforgettable.
Kim and her three older sisters were placed in the care of the State, which handed them over to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. She was only three at the time, yet had to conform to rigid standards of conduct and endure incredible cruelty. Yet this isn't an unrelieved, one-note account of abuse. There are bright moments, like Kim's eighth birthday present, a bracelet from one of the few adults who treated her kindly. Resourcefully, she hid that from the nuns, who confiscated any personal possessions.
Most of all, though, her story of the past is interwoven with her life in the present, where she and other survivors of the orphanage brought what had been hidden into the light. Represented by attorney William McMurray, they successfully sued the Sisters of Charity. But Kim's greatest victory was to find happiness with a family of her own, to keep her love of life, and to be unbreakable in every sense of the word.
I'm grateful that she wrote this book, and that I read it.
J_Kramin
Posted April 30, 2009
It's hard to put into words all the emotions that ran through me as I read this book. We've all heard stories about child abuse, but to learn how bad it really was first hand is beyond infuriating. I would never have imagined the depths of the evil she endured. To make it even worse was the fact that the hands that abused these children were seconds later folded in prayer. I applaud Kimmi for her courage to tell her tale, her wonderful writing style, and most of all her survival skills - I don't know how you did it. I have a small list of heros in my life, you've just been placed on the list, Kimmi.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I began reading "The Unbreakable Child" with the expectation of learning more about institutional child abuse and deprivation. But this story is so much more. Well-written and focused, this is an incredible story of survival.
I felt my anger grow at the abusers along with my compassion for little Kimmi, her sisters and all the children of this hellish orphanage. "The Unbreakable Child" is truly a fitting title, for every means was employed to break them, physically, emotionally, and spiritually through vicious beatings, verbal attacks, and, worst of all, the deplorable and mentally destructive sexual abuse suffered at the hands of those professing to show the face of God.
This is a story that sinks deeply into one's soul. Mrs. Richardson's fortitude, courage, and just plain guts is a lesson to us all about the indomitable human spirit. Reading this book will change your life a little. You won't look at the world quite the same way as before. You will look at others with more compassion. You will understand a bit more just how strong the human spirit can be.
Overview
Kim Richardson's story of surviving abuse at the hands of the Catholic nuns of Kentucky's St. Thomas/St. Vincent Orphanage, and later joining the class action suit brought by forty-four survivors, including her two sisters, which ended in victory. This book is about hope, justice, and ultimate forgiveness.
What ...