Review of By His Grace
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Review of By His Grace
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "By His Grace" by Katy Sudano.]
In By His Grace, Katy Sudano writes about her experiences as a child, teenager, and young adult. Co-authored with Ginger Green, she sheds light on the trauma and abuse she endured from a young age. For privacy reasons, many of the names in this memoir have been changed. Katy herself chose the name Sydney to make retelling her traumatic past easier.
Sydney was born in the 1970s to a Costa Rican-American mother and a Swiss-El Salvadorian father. They divorced when Sydney was two years old, and her childhood was spent traveling between their homes and her maternal grandparents’ homes in Central America, Europe, and the US. When Sydney was four years old, her mother married Peter. That marriage would turn out to be one of the worst things to ever happen to Sydney. Peter sexually abused and groomed her—he would reward her when she behaved and threaten her mother’s safety if she ever dared to tell anyone about his actions. To escape her horrible reality, Sydney lost herself in writing about living in a magical world. Her journal was filled with magical stories about Zoraya, the fierce girl she pictured herself as. Those stories were Sydney’s sanctuary to turn to whenever she felt lost and needed to forget about the interactions with appalling family members, the memories of a vacation to Florida, or her life in Costa Rica with the well-connected Fulco family when she was just nineteen years old. When would Sydney find the love, care, and appreciation she so desperately longed for?
Katy Sudano’s story is one of strength, endurance, and faith. It is a story of a mother who would do everything for the well-being of her child. I commend her for having the courage to open up about the unspeakable things that happened during her childhood and early adulthood, for bringing more awareness to serious subjects such as child sexual abuse, sexual assault, and abuse in a relationship. Katy Sudano and Ginger Green managed to describe past experiences and emotions authentically and descriptively, which made it easy to empathize with Sydney. The incorporation of photos and short passages of the fictional stories about Zoraya brings even more authenticity to this memoir. Sydney’s faith in God changed throughout the book and played an important role in her adolescence, especially during her stay with the Fulcos in Costa Rica. Every chapter starts with a bible verse that reaffirms the importance of religion in Katy Sudano’s story. Overall, people of Christian faith might be able to better understand this aspect of Katy’s story.
Unfortunately, I spotted multiple typos and editing mistakes regarding the layout in the Kindle edition of this book. On several instances, individual sentences were pointlessly split into two separate paragraphs. Errors like these could have easily been rectified by a more thorough revision before publishing the book.
To conclude, I give By His Grace 4 out of 5 stars. If the book had been edited more thoroughly, it could have been a 5-star read for me. Nonetheless, Katy Sudano and Ginger Green created an authentic memoir that brings more awareness to very serious topics and might encourage other survivors to speak about their experiences. Since the book contains mentions of child abuse and sexual assault, I would recommend it to adults only.
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By His Grace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In By His Grace, Katy Sudano writes about her experiences as a child, teenager, and young adult. Co-authored with Ginger Green, she sheds light on the trauma and abuse she endured from a young age. For privacy reasons, many of the names in this memoir have been changed. Katy herself chose the name Sydney to make retelling her traumatic past easier.
Sydney was born in the 1970s to a Costa Rican-American mother and a Swiss-El Salvadorian father. They divorced when Sydney was two years old, and her childhood was spent traveling between their homes and her maternal grandparents’ homes in Central America, Europe, and the US. When Sydney was four years old, her mother married Peter. That marriage would turn out to be one of the worst things to ever happen to Sydney. Peter sexually abused and groomed her—he would reward her when she behaved and threaten her mother’s safety if she ever dared to tell anyone about his actions. To escape her horrible reality, Sydney lost herself in writing about living in a magical world. Her journal was filled with magical stories about Zoraya, the fierce girl she pictured herself as. Those stories were Sydney’s sanctuary to turn to whenever she felt lost and needed to forget about the interactions with appalling family members, the memories of a vacation to Florida, or her life in Costa Rica with the well-connected Fulco family when she was just nineteen years old. When would Sydney find the love, care, and appreciation she so desperately longed for?
Katy Sudano’s story is one of strength, endurance, and faith. It is a story of a mother who would do everything for the well-being of her child. I commend her for having the courage to open up about the unspeakable things that happened during her childhood and early adulthood, for bringing more awareness to serious subjects such as child sexual abuse, sexual assault, and abuse in a relationship. Katy Sudano and Ginger Green managed to describe past experiences and emotions authentically and descriptively, which made it easy to empathize with Sydney. The incorporation of photos and short passages of the fictional stories about Zoraya brings even more authenticity to this memoir. Sydney’s faith in God changed throughout the book and played an important role in her adolescence, especially during her stay with the Fulcos in Costa Rica. Every chapter starts with a bible verse that reaffirms the importance of religion in Katy Sudano’s story. Overall, people of Christian faith might be able to better understand this aspect of Katy’s story.
Unfortunately, I spotted multiple typos and editing mistakes regarding the layout in the Kindle edition of this book. On several instances, individual sentences were pointlessly split into two separate paragraphs. Errors like these could have easily been rectified by a more thorough revision before publishing the book.
To conclude, I give By His Grace 4 out of 5 stars. If the book had been edited more thoroughly, it could have been a 5-star read for me. Nonetheless, Katy Sudano and Ginger Green created an authentic memoir that brings more awareness to very serious topics and might encourage other survivors to speak about their experiences. Since the book contains mentions of child abuse and sexual assault, I would recommend it to adults only.
******
By His Grace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Todos Santos Baja California Sur by Andrea R. Huff
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It is amazing to read that faith played a huge role in Katy's story and life and I cannot wait to read the exact specifics about the same. One of the saddest things I have always encountered is the issue of abuse from those who one would expect to be their loved ones, especially family members. The fact that it comes from those very close makes it hurt a lot. I hope there was healing eventually. Many thanks for the review, @nini_reads.
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Latest Review: Sooner Secrets by Shelley L. Levisay
