The Only Girl in the World

A Memoir

De: Maude Julien

Narrado por: Elisabeth Rodgers

For readers of Room and The Glass Castle, an astonishing memoir of one woman's rise above an unimaginable childhood.
Maude Julien's parents were fanatics who believed it was their sacred duty to turn her into the ultimate survivor -- raising her in isolation, tyrannizing her childhood and subjecting her to endless drills designed to "eliminate weakness." Maude learned to hold an electric fence for minutes without flinching, and to sit perfectly still in a rat-infested cellar all night long (her mother sewed bells onto her clothes that would give her away if she moved). She endured a life without heat, hot water, adequate food, friendship, or any kind of affectionate treatment.

But Maude's parents could not rule her inner life. Befriending the animals on the lonely estate as well as the characters in the novels she read in secret, young Maude nurtured in herself the compassion and love that her parents forbid as weak. And when, after more than a decade, an outsider managed to penetrate her family's paranoid world, Maude seized her opportunity.

By turns horrifying and magical, The Only Girl in the World is a story that will grip you from the first page and leave you spellbound, a chilling exploration of psychological control that ends with a glorious escape.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"At oncefascinating, mystifying and distressing...The story takes on the energy of athriller, building on the reader's hectic desire for [Julien's] escape."—New York Times Book Review

"A harrowing yet achingly beautiful tale of a girl imprisoned by her brutal, fanatic family, but whose yearning for wonder and love ultimately drives her toward the improbable light of the world. . . The Only Girl in the World is a story of resilience unlike any I have ever read."—Mira Bartók, author of the National Book CriticsCircle Award Winner The Memory Palace

"In the hierarchy of traumatic memoir, Maude Julien has something to write home about. . . The Only Girl in the World is the haunting story of a girl whose survivalist parents locked her away and subjected her to 'training' starting at the age of three. But it is also proof that love is in our nature regardless of our nurture."—Vanity Fair

"The author of this harrowing memoir describes a childhood trapped in her family's grand house on the outskirts of a small French town in the nineteen-sixties...Now working as a therapist specializing in cases of psychological manipulation, she tells her story with the unflinching clarity of someone who is no longer ruled by her trauma."—The New Yorker

"One of the most original and compelling stories I've read. A tale of hope and profound courage, The Only Girl in the World illustrates how trusting ourselves and following our hearts can save us from the most oppressive and cruel conditions. Her brave spirit shines as a bright reminder that what lies within us is stronger and more powerful than our circumstances."—RuthWariner, New York Times bestselling author of The Sound ofGravel

"A living testimony of resilience... An account as gripping as it is inspiring."—Elle

"The year's most harrowing memoir...At times the book, in form, resembles the beginnings of Emma Donoghue's Room, but this text is necessarily more graphic and frightening...My multiple audible gasps while working through The Only Girl in the World were partly a result of its author's ability to so artfully capture the meaning and depth of her survival. You wonder how anyone who went through what she did could come out functioning on the other side...That The Only Girl in the World exists as it does is a most persuasive argument for Julien's remarkable willpower."—Entertainment Weekly

"A disturbing, engrossing memoir. . . A startling testament of survival."—Kirkus

"Chilling."—In Style

"This story is never maudlin-it is so absorbing that you have to remind yourself to breathe from time to time."—Le Point

"A harrowing, gripping memoir of abuse and psychopathy...Julien approaches the past with fearless contemplation, veracity, and vivid portrayals of the brutality in her early life."—The AV Club

Excellent

Emotional read but very well written. Amazing true story about endurance and survival. Must read.

Heartbreaking and Powerful

Great work...one of those that you are truly thankful you read but is difficult given the suffering and pain. This story is right up there with Night by Weisel and the Dairy of Anne Frank....powerful.

Compelling and heartbreaking

Maude’s recollection of her childhood is horrific and devastating even to the listener. Yet I was so amazed by her resilience and hope to seek freedom and life through the whole story. Maude’s experience also adds a lot to the nature vs nurture debate in psychology.

Strength of human spirit

I love that Maude’s spirit was strong enough to endure her parentage and tortured upbringing. I could not stop listening.

Still hard to believe it's an actual memoir

A very authentic and genuine telling of the author's childhood struggles in the hands of a mad father. A story of mental and physical abuse that doesn't feel dramtized or needlessly embellished.

And the beauty of it is that the heroine used the willpower nurtured by her father's "teachings" (and often in spite of them) to break free.

Heartbreakingly Captivating

Was slow getting into this book, but once I began to understand the author and the authenticity of her emotional upbringing, I was truely engaged and appalled. Her life is unique and astounding, and her strength and perseverance through it all is not only admirable, but astonishing. Well written recollections help bring the reading inside the world of Maude and her journey to freedom. HIGHLY reccomend.

Well done.

Well written and extremely well performed.

It’s so sad to realize the long-term suffering that mentally ill parents cause their children. This is one fantastic tale.

Fantastic Book!!!

At first i didn't think this book was gonna be good, but i stuck on listening. it wasn't till almost the end i really enjoyed this book from thr first word till the last. Evan though my life isn't anything like hers, i myself could relate in a way that i was always told what to do. The authir was awesome in making me believe what was really going. on in the girls life. if i could, i would make this a 10!

Difficult to listen and absorb.

Excellent pacing by the narrator. It was extremely difficult to make myself listen to the abuses she endured as an innocent, unprotected child.. I can't say that I enjoyed the book. I am enriched by her triumph over evils.

unbelievable

Kept me interested right from the start to the end !! . The animal cruelty was hard to listen to as well as Maudes daily torture.