The Karen Vanderlaan story is an epic chronicle of warm moments sprinkled lightly along a gut-wrenching trail of sadness. It moves inexorably on decline to an eventual inspiring uplift, if not of dreams actualized — if not of reality warmly embraced — then of reality acknowledged and fought to a coexistent truce. One could almost characterize this autobiography as a psychological thriller — a novel with clues to later behaviors deftly woven into a little girl’s childhood experiences of warm sibling relationships squeezed all the tighter by a near universal set of negligent, indifferent, or horribly abusive adults that populated the early phases of their lives.   

From the back cover:

“As a young girl on the idyllic Milky Way Farm, author Karen Vanderlaan initially believes life is full of magic, wonder and horses. All too quickly, however, her innocence is lost when her mother gets involved with an abusive, manipulative woman named Bunny. Bunny subjects Karen and her young siblings to unspeakable cruelties — all in the name of God. Karen’s spirit is deeply scarred by Bunny’s inhumanity, but the adversity serves to solidify in Karen an inner strength and calmness that carry her through even greater challenges later in life.

Karen’s story is at once uplifting and heart wrenching. It reveals the best and worst of human nature in a riveting, true life tale of the author’s journey to change life for herself, her siblings, her children and her beloved horses.”

Karen doesn’t blink in laying out a gripping chronicle of her family tree adorned with virtues and values, along with more than a few ugly warts and blemishes. There is an element of Stockholm syndrome at work here, where the victim forms an adhesive association with a brain-washing abuser. It takes an incredible amount of intestinal fortitude — and the fortuitous intervention of some better angels — to face such overwhelming demons and emerge from the battle a stronger person with life values intact and in control.

I found this book a bit disturbing but incredibly inspiring. Karen’s love of endangered children and horses — and her valiant struggle to make a difference in their lives — is a theme that shines brightly through the dark shroud that she sets about removing from her most eventful life, thread by thread, fold by fold. I highly recommend it for a very emotional, yet soul satisfying read. Four and a half stars.            

© 2008 R. Leland Wald.rip