Becoming

by Catherine Lanigan

Book Overview

What do you do when your husband hits you? When your father only sees you as Daddy's good girl? When your son cries as the two of you leave home in the middle of the night? Like countless other women... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0843942614
• ISBN13: 9780843942613
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Leisure Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.1" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

a well balanced insight woven into a tale

This book is far above the normal story that tells of abuse. It considers not only the actions but also the causes and it tells it well. To me it is written much better than the usual romance paperback because both the primary and secondary characters grow and learn from the mistakes of the past. This is one book I will not pass on but keep in my own library.

Shouldn't be labled as romance; but still a powerful story

From the back cover: What do you do when your husband hits you?...When your father only thinks of you as Daddy's good girl?...When your little son looks at you with tears in his eyes and asks you why you're taking him away from home in the middle of the night? If you're Susan Kidd, you forge a new identity for yourself and leave the past behind. Like countless women who have made the wrong choices, loved the wrong men, let other people direct their lives, Susan decided to take control of her future. Bright, determined and hardworking, she had the courage to believe she could succeed. This is her story--it is your story--for in one way or another, we are all...Becoming. And my review: I was a little wary of buying this book, since I hadn't liked ADMIT DESIRE by the same author. But since it was only 50 cents, I decided to take the chance. I'm glad that I did. This is the story of a battered wife learning to start over. And while the book is labeled "contemporary romance", the romance aspect of it is only a very small portion of the book. In fact, the reader doesn't even get to meet the hero until page 250! For a 400 page book, that's not very much time for a romance. And that's where the book lost one star. The romance felt very tacked on at the end. The character of the hero was only very briefly sketched. I never really felt like I knew him. Rather than showing us their relationship, the author decided to just tell us that they are in love, a mere five pages after they meet. Sorry, but I don't find it realistic just because you say it's so! I like to really see and feel the love between the two characters. I didn't here. I suspect that the author was working under a page restriction, and couldn't develop the romance the way she might have liked to. Once I got past my "as if they could be in love so quickly without even knowing each other at all" attitude, the struggles of the heroine to learn to trust again were well portrayed. The rest of this book was very well done. The character of the heroine was well drawn. Her motivations and fears and the way her past had shaped her was shown through flashbacks and introspection by the heroine. I also liked that the author delved into the relationship of the heroine's parents, showing how their attitudes had shaped the heroine, and bringing healing to their relationship (with each other and with their daughter) as well. The author also did a good job of showing what had shaped the abusive husband. Not that she ever excused his actions, but she showed how violence can be passed down from parent to child without ever being preachy about it. The husband was more than just a caricature; he was a person as well. It made the heroine's struggle to be free of him while still caring for him feel more real to me. One minor complaint I had was that I felt that the heroine's son was too good to be true. This kid never complained, never got scared, never threw a tantrum...for an eight-year-old dragged away f

A Beautiful Story

I haven't listened to the audio tape version so this review is based on reading the actual novel. This story is a heartwarming tale of a woman desperate to leave an abusive husband. She sets out for a new life with her young son, Joey. Catherine Lanigan writes the journey this young woman takes to get control of her life - a plight that is common for single parents. Susan Kidd (the heroine) gets back on her feet again by learning skills to join the workforce, finding a place to live and discovers a new love in her life. Slowly but surely, she is wooed by her boss, a caring man who loves both her and her son. Lanigan writes a happily-ever-after tale for a lady in need. A novel to bring a smile to your face.