The Blood on My Hands: An Autobiography by Shannon O’Leary

If you enjoyed this review, please like my page on Facebook: Belleza Foxx

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: Feb 2016
Type: Non-Fiction, True Crime, Autobiography ~ Free from author for honest review.
Pages: 258
Read: 6/10/2016
Rating: Was O.K.

This book was sent to me free in exchange for an honest review. I struggled to finish it, I wrestled with writing a review, I gave this book 2 stars on Goodreads and made the comment I was so bored with this book.

There are a few reasons it has taken me so long to write this review. 1) I didn’t really want to write it. I got the book free and so I wanted to like the book and write a nice review. Unfortunately I didn’t like the book. 2) Shannon O’Leary suffered a horrific childhood and from things I have read online still suffers from the abuse she experienced as a child. I worry that a bad review will add to her pain. 3) Shannon’s father was possibly mentally ill in addition to being a serial murderer, serial rapist, serial child abuser, and wife beater. However he was never taken to account for his crimes and the families of his victims will never know what happened to their loved ones. I am not blaming Shannon or her mother for this, they were all victims also. This fact just irks me. 4) There are things written in first person view that Shannon could not have possible remembered, obviously she relied on accounts from others. The fact that she does not acknowledge this irks me a little. 5) I read that Shannon write this from “the viewpoint of a child”, and I wonder why? This is certainly not a book one would encourage a child to read. I also believe that Shannon writes children’s books and poetry, maybe this format is comfortable to use.

Autobiography best sums up this book, there is great detail on what is was like growing up in New South Wales, how her parents met, the poor conditions they lived under, their life in general. She talks about the different ‘men’ her father would become, his abuse of her and the efforts her mother made to get away from him. Much of the abuse is written with how it felt to her, “attempted to fend off the sticky stuff that covered my face” … “Then sticky stuff, all over my nightdress.” …

While I didn’t like this book, as you can see from the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon many did. I am not going to recommend for or against reading it, I am leaving it at this. I hope my review gives you an idea of whether or not you will like it.