On the Ledge: A Memoir by Amy Turner: Review

Teddyrose@1

2 years ago

On the Ledge: A Memoir by Amy Turner

Publisher: She Writes Press, (September 6, 2022)
Category: Memoir, Dysfunctional Families, Mental Wellness
Tour dates: September 6, 2022-October 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1647422257
Available in Print and ebook, 256 pages

Description On the Ledge by Amy Turner

In 1957, when Amy Turner was four years old, her father had to be talked down from a hotel ledge by a priest. The story of his attempted suicide received nationwide press coverage, and he spent months in a psychiatric facility before returning home. From then on, Amy constantly worried about him for reasons she didn’t yet fully understand, triggering a pattern of hypervigilance that would plague her into adulthood.

In 2010, fifty-five years after her father’s attempted suicide, Amy—now a wife, mother, and lawyer-turned-schoolteacher—is convinced she’s dealt with all the psychological reverberations of her childhood. Then she steps into a crosswalk and is mowed down by a pickup truck—an accident that nearly kills her, and that ultimately propels her on a remarkable emotional journey. With the help of Chinese Medicine, Somatic Experiencing, and serendipities that might be attributed to grace, Amy first unravels the trauma of her own brush with death and then, unexpectedly, heals the childhood trauma buried far deeper.

Poignant and intimate, On the Ledge is Amy’s insightful and surprisingly humorous chronicle of coming to terms with herself and her parents as the distinct, vulnerable individuals they are. Perhaps more meaningfully, it offers proof that no matter how far along you are in life, it’s never too late to find yourself.

My Thoughts On the Ledge by Amy Turner

Stuck between her mother’s alcoholism and her father’s depression, Amy’s childhood was not easy. In 1957, Amy Turner’s father tried to kill himself by jumping off of the ledge attached to his hotel room window. He was on a business trip and ended up having to be talked down by a priest who just happened to be passing by.

Starting the memoir from this place—the first moment that her life changed forever—Amy goes on to explain how her father’s subsequent hospital stay affected her entire family. From the time that she was four years old on, Amy’s family had to sidestep her father’s fragile moods and continually worry about his mental health. Although Amy makes it clear that she loved her father, the adapted ways that she learned to deal with him throughout her childhood took a toll on her.

Many years later, Amy’s life is forever changed in another split second when she is hit by a car. Although she is soon deemed to have only sustained a concussion, Amy spends many terrifying hours after the accident and during the Life Flight to the hospital, wondering if she is going to die. Events like this can understandably change a person, and it is from this that Amy began to take a good, hard look at her life and her childhood.

‘On the Ledge,’ is a memoir that is well worth your time and worth adding to your TBR list! Turner’s look at her inner child and all of the events that lead her to the place in her life that she is now, was refreshing and thought-provoking.

I couldn’t put this book down throughout the entire time that I was reading, and finished it in one day. I deeply admire Turner’s resilience and appreciate her sharing her story with readers everywhere.

About Amy Turner

Amy Turner was born in Bronxville, New York, and is a graduate of Boston University, with a degree in political science, and of New York Law School, with a Juris Doctor Degree. After practicing law (rather unhappily) for twenty-two years, she finally found the courage to change careers at forty-eight and become a (very happy) seventh grade social studies teacher.

A long-time meditator and avid reader who loves to swim and bike, Amy lives in East Hampton, New York, with her husband, Ed, to whom she’s been married for forty years. They have two sons. On the Ledge is Amy’s first book.

Website: https://www.amyturnerauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amyturnerauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyTurnerWriter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyturner2000/

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Giveaway On the Ledge by Amy Turner

This giveaway is for 2 print copies and is open to the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on October 5, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

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