Wounds of the Father: A True Story of Child Abuse, Betrayal, and Redemption Free Audiobook Download by Elizabeth Garrison

Wounds of the Father: A True Story of Child Abuse, Betrayal, and Redemption by Elizabeth Garrison is a memoir about a mother's journey through self-discovery and redemption. The book is narrated by Hillary Huber, an actress who reads the text in her low voice with intensity. Hillary describes what it was like to live as a child in her home growing up and how she was mistreated. She explains how she went on the run one day only to be robbed and left for dead. Hearing her story through Hillary's voice makes you feel like you were able to step inside the character's head and doesn't let up on the intensity until the very end.

A father who was a drunk and a womanizer, beat his wife and his children. The woman would take her kids away in the middle of the night to stay with other family members or friends. Whenever she could, she took them back to him so that he could continue his treatment towards them. In this book, Elizabeth Garrison takes you through her story of how she came to see her father for who he really was after so many years of being defined by his abusive nature.

The book begins with the author, Elizabeth, and her daughter, Mari, at home. They are living on their own in a small house until he father comes to drop of some money. The father is cruel to Mari and tells her she cannot go outside and play anymore because she is too old for that. When Mari asks if he loves her, the father says, "I don't have time for this--I've got work." He pushes Mari against the wall without any remorse and leaves.

This book follows the author's journey in trying to find out what happened to her biological father. She was taken away from him when she was only an infant, and never knew anything about him until she was 18 years old. The story takes place over approximately 10 years and switches back and forth between before and after she finds out what happened to her.

Elizabeth Garrison was raised in a middle-class home with two parents who were deeply devoted to each other, until she was 11 years old when she and her little brother found out their mother had been engaging in an affair. From that moment on, her life has been fractured by the betrayal. Elizabeth shares her story of betrayal and abuse during a long period of time spent trying to reconnect with her family and piecing together the puzzle of what happened.

Wounds of the Father is a difficult read, but necessary to learn about child abuse and its effects. Elizabeth Garrison's story begins with her father's beating of her and ends with a happy reunion. It is told in alternating chapters focusing on her childhood, teenage-hood, and adulthood. The audiobook version has an extra chapter that explains how Elizabeth was able to overcome her abuse and become successful in the world.