Reviewed by Gisela Dixon for Readers’ Favorite
My Secret Self: Trials and Tribulations of an Innocent by Christine U. Cowin is a non-fiction autobiography written in the first person by Christine. In My Secret Self, Christine has described her early years through her teenage life living in Australia. The books follows a chronological order and is divided into chapters and sections that describe Christine’s life as a child growing up around nature and animals, her internal dysfunctional family dynamic with her parents, siblings, grandmother who helped raised her, her sexual abuse at the hands of her father and others, her mother’s reaction or lack thereof to her sexual abuse, the resulting years of isolation and desperate coping, and more. This book is the first part of Christine’s
life and mainly focuses on her early years.
I thought My Secret Self: Trials and Tribulations of an Innocent was an inspiring book and stories such as Christine’s of sexual abuse and neglect are unfortunately all too common and that is why it is important to spread awareness around the issue of incest and childhood sexual abuse. Christine writes in a moving and simple way and the minute details—such as her relationship with animals—lends authenticity to the book. She also describes paranormal experiences and refers to her personal spiritual journey intermittently throughout the book as well. I am hoping to read further installments of her story and her journey into adulthood as well as her later relationship dynamic with her family. This is an interesting and educational read.