Shadow Street – A Memoir of Escaping a Psychopath -by Laurie D. Finucane

I haven’t read many memoirs and I’m not entirely sure what caused me to pick this one as I was browsing the “Read Now” category on NetGalley. A combination of the title, Shadow Street – A Memoir of Escaping a Psychopath, and the haunting cover caught my eye. “Escaping” was the key word there. This book promised to be a story of hope.

Laurie fell in love at a very young age. She grew up in a loving home with parents who modeled a loving relationship. They only wanted the best for their daughter. Being a defiant teenager, their concerns about her boyfriend only made her more determined to marry and start a life together with him as soon as possible. This was the first misfortune of many to come throughout the book.

James, Laurie’s husband, quickly grows controlling and manipulative, and it quickly escalates from there. To be perfectly honest – the story of their marriage and how Laurie was treated was very hard to read. I could have finished the book much quicker than I did, but I needed to step away physically and emotionally from the story. But one thing that holds true even through the hardest parts to read is Laurie’s never wavering love for her children and a hope for a brighter future. It’s that promise of hope that kept me reading.

Some of my favorite parts of the book were where Laurie describes some of the friendships she made throughout the years. Her connections with people outside of her marriage are bright spots in the story, as I’m sure they were in her life. You feel the love and concern these people have for her. It really is heartwarming in the core of a dark story.

This is a beautifully written book that can hopefully serve to encourage people with physically and/or emotionally abusive partners find the strength they need. I think it would be a huge benefit for the book to have a list of resources either at the beginning or end of the book for people in a similar situation.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. I’m thankful for the opportunity to read Laurie’s story and it will stay on my mind for a long time to come. I’m happy to give it four out of five stars.