I listened to this on my way to the beach (we had to take two cars thanks to the three dogs!) and then when I was there, I finished reading the actual book. I mostly liked The Ascent and after I read it, I realized I had read another book by her back when it came out which I also mostly liked. The appeal of this one was strong–a secret cult-like past and the Philadelphia setting.

I’m not a mother but from the beginning I didn’t think her so-called “overly protective” behavior toward the baby was as over the top was I felt like we were supposed to think—her husband and mother-in-law treated her like trash. It was hard to see her second guessing herself but it worked since she grew up in such a strange way between the cult and the situation with her cousin. But her mother-in-law was real underminder and her husband was super condescending to her and overly close to his mom. I wouldn’t rely on them either and she had no one else.

The flashbacks to her days right after leaving the cult were interesting. I really got a sense of her bewilderment and isolation. I wish we knew a little bit more about the cousin because her aunt was so nice and the cousin was horrible from day one. It was difficult to read how so many people who should have cared for her made Ophelia’s life so much worse. I wish there was someone in her life that could have validated her concerns more. That lack of support beyond her aunt really set her up for failure in ways she couldn’t see or understand.

The twist was a lot and more sensational than the tone of the rest of the book. I totally believed the predator but the victim’s identity was a little bit of a stretch to me and I would have liked more backstory on them.

I also thought there should have been more about the mother-in-law and the therapist that Lee saw at her suggestion who was clearly not on Lee’s side. They were horrible and more must have gone on there than we saw in the book and they kind of got dropped in the final chapters. Surely these women should not be allowed to be therapists anymore?!