Review – Sickened by Julie Gregory (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Biography
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Bantam
Release Date: September 30, 2003
ISBN-13: 978-0553803075
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Mother
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“From early childhood, Julie Gregory was continually X-rayed, medicated, and operated on—in the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother’s mind. Munchausen by proxy (MBP) is the world’s most hidden and dangerous form of child abuse, in which the caretaker—almost always the mother—invents or induces symptoms in her child because she craves the attention of medical professionals. Many MBP children die, but Julie Gregory not only survived, she escaped the powerful orbit of her mother’s madness and rebuilt her identity as a vibrant, healthy young woman.

Sickened is a remarkable memoir that speaks in an original and distinctive Midwestern voice, rising to indelible scenes in prose of scathing beauty and fierce humor. Punctuated with Julie’s actual medical records, it re-creates the bizarre cocoon of her family’s isolated double-wide trailer, their wild shopping sprees and gun-waving confrontations, the astonishing naïveté of medical professionals and social workers. It also exposes the twisted bonds of terror and love that roped Julie’s family together—including the love that made a child willing to sacrifice herself to win her mother’s happiness.

The realization that the sickness lay in her mother, not in herself, would not come to Julie until adulthood. But when it did, it would strike like lightning. Through her painful metamorphosis, she discovered the courage to save her own life—and, ultimately, the life of the girl her mother had found to replace her. Sickened takes us to new places in the human heart and spirit. It is an unforgettable story, unforgettably told.”

This was an intriguing read and I applaud the author for trying to raise awareness of Munchausen by Proxy and how unrecognized it is as a form of child abuse.

The book itself was okay. There is a lot of excellent description in here; the copies of medical records and photos of the author really drove home that this was real and added a lot to this memoir. This memoir touches on a lot more than just the main topic of Munchausen by Proxy; there are many other forms of abuse in here. This is not a comfortable and happy read; it is a disturbing read. However, it was a pretty quick read.

The author jumps around in time a bit, so at points it was hard to figure out how old she was during certain incidents. The ending seemed rushed and unfinished; I do understand this is a memoir and isn’t a complete story, but I wish the lessons and themes had been brought together a bit better at the end.

I did learn a lot about Munchausen by Proxy; I knew some about this mental illness going in. However, it was an eye opener how the offending parent draws the affected child into complacency. I never fully realized how much kids will try to please their parents even though what their parents are doing is incredibly damaging to them. It also really drove home the helplessness of children in our society as a whole.

Overall this was an intriguing read and I applaud the author for writing this. The book itself is mediocre in writing quality and organization but it does paint an eye-opening picture and educate about Munchausen by Proxy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge