This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Viga Boland's first memoir, "No Tears for my Father earned her a Gold Medal in the Readers Favorite 2014 Book Awards. Her second memoir, "Learning to Love Myself" was written at the request of friends and fans who wanted to know about her recovery after abuse. Viga has since published her 3rd memoir, a complete departure from the tone and content of the previous two books, titled "The Ladies of Loretto". This book currently available only through her personal website in both printed and digital formats, is a light-hearted, funny and nostalgic look at what it was like to be a student in a Catholic Girls High School during the early 60's. Viga also mentors memoir writing workshops for her local library and is the editor of a how-to magazine for memoir writers, "Memoirabilia". See http://www.memoirabilia.ca
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Learning to Love Myself: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-discovery After Abuse is a non-fiction memoir written by Viga Boland. It is the second book in Boland's No Tears for My Father memoir series. The author's father physically abused her and her mother when she was growing up, but from the time she was 11 years old, he began to sexually abuse her as well. Viga and her mother lived in fear of a father and husband who could turn violent and abusive with little or no provocation. When she became a teenager, Viga was kept isolated from her peers, and she was kept as what she describes as a 'second wife' until she was 24 years old. She had become a teacher in a local Catholic school and fell in love with one of the other teachers there, an Australian named John Boland. When she nervously brought up the subject of John's asking for her hand in marriage, she was surprised by her father's lack of outrage; however, one week later, he cast her out of his house. Viga lived with the horrific memories of his abuse for forty years before opening up to her family, who encouraged her to write her story.
Viga Boland's non-fiction memoir, Learning to Love Myself: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-discovery After Abuse is powerful and compelling reading. I had trouble getting my head around the awful reality of her childhood and her resulting sense of guilt and shame. But seeing where Boland goes after that very troubling start in life is so inspirational and transcendent. Boland is a marvelous and fiercely honest writer who tells her story with candor and frankness, and her style makes you soon begin to see her as a friend and to admire her courage, imagination and tenacity. I loved the photographs and poems she includes in Learning to Love Myself. Seeing the photos of John and Viga growing together and raising their children, and looking at their houses which she describes so well, brought her story even closer. And while I did wonder how they could ever have left that house by the beach, I found myself applauding each new challenge and adventure they had taken on. Learning to Love Myself: A Memoir of Recovery and Self-discovery After Abuse is a remarkable achievement, and I recommend it most highly.
