I don't usually like the misery memoir genre but this book was bought for me by a friend and I was blown away by it. It is a quite incredible story - not just about horrific abuse but also about the development of Michele's psychic powers. It reads more like a thriller - I read it in one sitting, staying awake well into the small hours as I simply couldn't put it down.
Michele Knight was horribly abused, by close friends and neighbours. Her mother was incredibly unstable and physically threatened her as well. She had many narrow brushes with death. But what is so heart-warming (and tragically sad as well) is that the spirit of her twin sister (who died as Michele was born) stayed with her the entire way through her childhood, comforting her and saving her life on many occasions. This spiritual element makes it something quite different and I was fascinated by the descriptions of the development of a psychic - how Michele heard spirits and learned healing at an incredibly young age.
The scene in Italy when an evil spirit devastates the entire campsite is just terrifying, as are the malevolent spirits that are attracted by Micheel's mother's seances. Spine-tingling.
Yes, the abuse is awful but it isn't gratuitous and I felt this book is wrongly marketed as a story of abuse. It is actually incredibly life-affirming - Michele never feels sorry for herself and is always looking on the positive side, even when most of us would see nothing positive at all.
There are some incredible cases of synchronicity and coincidence that do make you wonder about the possibility of the supernatural.
Finally, it is well-written, really well-written and that seems rare in this genre too.
I would recommend it wholeheartedly - not just to those who like misery memoirs but to anyone who is interested in human life, the supernatural and those who simply like a rattling good yarn.
Ghastly cover though.