No Fourth River. A Novel Based on a True Story. A Profoundly Moving Read About a Woman's Fight for Survival.

By: Christine Clayfield

Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer Punch Audio

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Electroshock therapy, child abuse, and modern-day slavery... just another day in Christine's life.

Take a heart-wrenching yet inspiring ride through one woman's incredible journey that is so compelling that you are simultaneously trying to look away and unable to stop yourself from listening on.

Christine's father is a wealthy, tyrannical man renowned in the diamond business. At the age of just five, little Christine is cast aside into a boarding school where she is ridiculed for two embarrassing problems. She grows up in a never-ending circle of traumatic experiences both in her boarding school and at home. It culminates into a falling out between father and child that was never fully mended, leading her into a world of promiscuity and alcohol, eventually landing her in a violent marriage.

Driven to the limits of despair and heartache, she creates a plan to escape her world of misery. Will her plan work?

This is a story that asks: How do you find the strength, when you suffer almost unbearable abuse and are broken beyond repair, to pick up the pieces of a shattered life?

This journey shows the tenacity of the human spirit and how the will to survive can often be hidden behind self-destructive tendencies. This beautifully written novel is an incredible inspiring true story about loss, abuse, survival, and hope.

©2017 RASC Publishing (P)2018 RASC Publishing

Critic reviews

"Honestly ... I was really quite impressed. You have a from-the-heart tale that resonates. This novel is very well written, a real page turner. It's inspirational and it keeps you on the edge of your seat." (Amanda Rogers, proofreader)

"This is powerful stuff. I like your frank, no excuses yet no shame writing style. It's rare to find a script that actually has me thinking about it later. A story that strikes at a visceral level and latches onto the brain like a tick... now that's good writing." (Richard Peters, editor)

Family life and how to overcome

The whole book was excellent. I was very focused throughout the whole book. I recommend this book!

Excellent read!

What a story! I admire
what she went thru and came successfully out the other side. It would have broke most people who would have become alcoholics or addicted to drugs. She is truly an inspiration. This book ought to be required reading in high school. Hope she lives at least to be as old as her mother or older.😀 Great book!

My new favorite book!

First, Jane Oppenheimer's voice is golden. So sweet, so soothing, and this book is so perfectly read.

My reviews are usually only a few words, but there's so much about this book that I love. Parts are hard to listen to when thinking about everything that this woman went through in early life and I found myself wondering how she survived it all. The mind is a powerful thing. For her to come out of all of that and to become the woman she is, well, she's amazing. I love that she starts every chapter with a quote. I love how much she has achieved. I love her love story with her Richard and their children. Even though she uses a lot of cliches, they carry meaning in this story. The last few chapters are worth the wait. The encouragement and the inspiration just touched my heart. Outside of the physical abuse, I can relate to just about everything she went through that made her the woman she is!

Never Give Up!

This poor woman went through unimaginable physical and psychological pain. Page by page, you can't look away from the horrors as your heart rips apart. However, in the end, strength, endurance, and resolve grow within Christine to overcome the horrifying hurdles that kept blocking her way. Well written and narrated captivating story.

How can you not be touched by the facts?

I don’t know how anyone could not feel compassion for anyone who has been exposed to this kind of abuse, but clearly is a survivor? So many people go through this and we never know it. I never had to experience this kind of situation in my childhood, but I have been through it since. But I still think it’s more about how you can get through it. Some people don’t. If I learn from others stories, I know that there are people who have/ had it worse. Unspeakable is another great example of what so many go through and it’s never to late to learn that. I have listened to so many memoirs, as well as fiction stories, and I highly recommend the memoirs and both books mentioned above.

Too Much “I” For Me

Liked this story, but was irritated by the constant mentions of successes. Things that were already talked about being mentioned again and again, ad nauseam. Richard, for one. Could’ve instead removed two chapters by consolidating and not repeating. I purchased for the history of an abusive childhood, not for self-help speeches. Had I realized beforehand. I likely wouldn’t have purchased.