The timeless, fearless, #1 New York Times bestselling memoir from the author of The Lovely Bones–a powerful account of her sexual assault at the age of eighteen and the harrowing trial that followed, now with a new afterword by the author. In a memoir hailed for its searing candor, as well as its wit, Alice Sebold reveals how her life was transformed when, as an eighteen-year-old college … an eighteen-year-old college freshman, she was brutally raped and beaten in a park near campus. What ultimately propels this chronicle of sexual assault and its aftermath is Sebold’s indomitable spirit, as she fights to secure her rapist’s arrest and conviction and comes to terms with a relationship to the world that has forever changed. With over a million copies in print, Lucky has touched the lives of a generation of readers. Sebold illuminates the experience of trauma victims and imparts a wisdom profoundly hard-won: “You save yourself or you remain unsaved.” Now reissued with a new afterword by the author, her story remains as urgent as it was when it was first published eighteen years ago.more
Lucky
By Alice Sebold
Lucky is a book written by Alice Sebold about the time she was raped and beaten up, as well as the events that followed. She writes about her struggle to come to terms with what had occurred to her after the tragedy. She tried talking to people about the night of the incident, but she felt that she had no one to talk to who would understand. She also felt like she was burdening her family and the other people around her with her grief. Alice did finally track down her rapist, and the cops are able to apprehend him; nevertheless, this does not imply that Alice had completely recovered from her trauma. For the following decade, Alice struggled with substance abuse and tried to use drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. The horrific incident continued to rule her life until she finally realized that she would never be able to forget that night, but she might be able to survive and tell her story.
I could not put this book down after the first few pages. The way Alice Sebold portrayed the events and details of her rape was completely gut-wrenching, but it also forced the reader to confront the horrifying reality of what rape victims experience. Alice did an excellent job of conveying the facts of her recovery and explaining her true feelings throughout the book. She explained how she thought that no “good” guy would ever like her again because she was “damaged”. She also wrote about how the weight of her rape caused her to struggle with addiction later in her life. She did not sugar coat any detail which I believe was a vital part of this book.
Alice Sebold’s family was not one of my favorites. In the book, it appeared that what she was going through was too difficult for the Sebold’s to even attempt to help her. Her father chastised her for staying out too late alone, and shamed her into believing she was to blame for the tragedy. Her mother refused to listen to Alice and the details of that night, even though Alice felt the need to explain what she went through. Alice’s sister was so distraught when she found out that her sister was a rape victim, that she caused Alice to feel like she destroyed her sister. Her family’s actions caused Alice to feel like she was completely alone and like nobody would ever understand her again.
I rated this book four stars because it was really well written. The subject matter made me more conscious of the horrible events that occur on a daily basis. Alice Sebold’s memoir shined a light onto a topic that usually gets overlooked and kept silent, which made this book even better. However, I felt that sometimes the book would go offtopic and sometimes skip around. This made several portions of the book difficult to follow, and I could not always understand what applied. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would suggest it to anybody interested in learning more about rape and its repercussions.
Powerful read!
More than a memoir.
A difficult book to read in many ways but only because of the subject matter, but I could not put it down and found it completely inspiring ! I would hope anyone who has had this kind of horrific experience in their own life, would be given this book to read as I know they would find something special within its pages.
Disappointed in the ending but otherwise great book.
This is a difficult book to read due to the true events, but is well written, drawing you in wanting to know what happened.