I have not followed any vlogs (too busy listening to audiobooks!), and even living in Utah, I wasn't that aware of this family. I'd seen this book come out and get some buzz, but it wasn't until my sister brought it up that I put it on my TBR. She said there was a couple featured in the book (the Haymonds) that I knew from my college years. 

I do feel a little odd giving a rating to memoirs ... but I also feel unfinished if I don't rate things. The rating is on the writing/organization/my boxes to check, not on the life. I felt like this was well written. Standard 1st person/past tense as memoirs tend to be. I liked that the chapters had headers, some dated (as needed). While labeled "Introduction" it used the common ploy of dropping us/the reader, right into a crucial/exciting moment that happens later in the book. The hook. Then it goes back in time and builds to that moment. 

For fans of the 8Passengers show, this really doesn't get into that in depth. Nor anyone really interested in learning about the abuse that ultimately lead to the arrests. This is Shari's story. At one point she says "It's not a story to be picked apart and analyzed" and there she's referring to the latter ... I do wonder how much that might apply to this book as well (most memoirs). 

The first couple chapters focus on younger Ruby, events before Shari was born. Just from a factual stand-point, and from reading other non-fiction books where sources and quotes are documented, I wondered what these chapters were based on. It sounded like she and her mother were never super close, were they close enough that this is what Ruby had told her? A grandmother's perspective? In interviews after the events happened? When something is non-fiction, and it's portions that aren't that individual's actual memories, I just wonder about the source. Even the "memories" from early childhood (5 years) ... how many of those are actual memories?  

There is a lot of dialog in the book ... which I guess is a grace given to memoirs that doesn't extend to regular non-fiction (where authors generally distinguish if something is in quotes, then it is word for word, taken from an interview or recording or journal, etc). It does make a story more readable. I realize there IS a lot of actual footage, and that Shari kept journals, but there isn't any distinction of what is taken directly from documentation, and what is being written from memory.

I borrowed this book from the library in both audio and Kindle format. I went primarily with the audio, narrated by the author, and I thought she did a good job.  Five "parts" with continuous numbered chapters (49 of them). Intro/Epilogue too. The parts and chapters had headers, which weren't included in the Table of Contents on the audio (I like to see the headers there). Looking back over the headers (in the Kindle TOC) they weren't ones that automatically brought back a memory of what was in each section. Some yes, but many were fairly generic. In the text (not TOC) the words in the headers were NOT capitalized ... and I wondered if there was a reason behind this. I'd just read the middle-grade series "The One and Only Ivan" and those chapter headers were all lower-case too, and there I felt like it was perhaps a visualization that the text was "written by the animals" who weren't super educated - that would not be the purpose here. Just a style choice?

After I finished the audiobook, I looked over it again in Kindle, re-reading portions, making some notes. I tend to make more highlights and notes when reading myself (it's just hard to do when listening). 

I noted (about the Haymonds taking one class from Jodi) ... "this fleeting exposure proved invaluable, giving them just enough insight to understand the world I was trapped in, without being pulled into its orbit." and thought that was a good/interesting point. Reference. 

The break-through from the counselor ... responses: flight, fight, freeze ... and fawn. I have a background in psychology and can't remember if I'd heard that last one, and feel like it hit a little close to home. The statement "seeing the pattern means you can break it" (Hubs and I have been watching "Shrinking" right now too). 

Ruby's Journal ... interesting that Shari did NOT want to read it, as compared to so much of the world who I'm sure would love to be able to get their hands on it (I didn't Google or anything to see if that was public anywhere). 

This was based in Utah, and the LDS church was a foundation, both for Ruby, and for Shari. For someone not in the church, this might come off as a little ... churchy ;) And while the church doesn't come off badly overall, there are definitely some questions raised. 

I have not seen the 20/20 episode mentioned, nor the recent Hulu documentary ... but this book has piqued my interest some, while also making me feel a little guilty for being part of the public and the "consumption of other's pain and suffering" ...