Such a Pretty Picture - by Andrea Leeb (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For readers of I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy and The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, a candid and heart-wrenching memoir about child abuse, family secrets, and the healing that begins once the truth is revealed and the past is confronted.

Andrea is four and a half the first time her father, David, gives her a bath. Although she is young, she knows there is something strange about the way he is touching her. When her mother, Marlene, walks in to check on them, she howls and crumples to the floor--and when she opens her eyes, she is blind. Marlene's hysterical blindness lasts for weeks, but her willful blindness lasts decades. The abuse continues, and Andrea spends a childhood living with a secret she can't tell and a shame she is too afraid to name.

Despite it, she survives. She builds a life and tells herself she is fine. But at age thirty-three, an unwanted grope on a New York City subway triggers her past. Suddenly unable to remember how to forget, Andrea is forced to confront her past--and finally begin to heal.

This brave debut offers honest insight into a survivor's journey. Readers will feel Andrea's pain, her fear, and her shame--yet they will also feel her hope. And like Andrea, they will come to understand an important truth: though healing is complicated, it is possible to find joy and even grace in the wake of the most profound betrayals.

Review Quotes

"A moving memoir of trauma with an uplifting conclusion."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The memoir delivers a raw and unsettling narrative that forces readers to think about the consequences of abuse, parental love, and the struggle for self-identity."--Readers' Favorite, 5-star review

"Andrea Leeb's powerful memoir Such a Pretty Picture explicates the long-term consequences of and process of recovery from abuse."--Foreword Clarion Reviews

"Resonant narrative of trauma, growth, and forgiveness."--Booklife Review

". . . a gripping narrative of emotional abandonment, maternal betrayal, and the long shadow of incest."--Literary Titan, 5-star review

"Such A Pretty Picture was raw and aching, but impossible to look away from . . . one of the most honest, powerful memoirs I've ever read. "--Los Angeles Book Review

"With unwavering honesty and lyrical restraint, Leeb constructs a narrative that is as emotionally devastating as it is artistically accomplished. This memoir is not just a chronicle of survival--it is a study in how language, silence, and memory coalesce into a haunting portrait of a life shaped by secrets."--San Francisco Book Review

"Such A Pretty Picture is a fierce act of reclamation, written with haunting grace. Brave, honest, and exquisitely written, this memoir is a necessary addition to the canon of survival literature. Leeb's story will stay with readers long after the final page."--Portland Book Review

"Such a Pretty Picture is like being handed someone's most vulnerable truth, raw and unfiltered. Andrea Leeb doesn't just tell you about her life--she brings you into it with visceral clarity."--Seattle Book Review

"Andrea Leeb's debut memoir is beautifully rendered with heartbreaking sensory detail. Her journey from a daughter betrayed to a young woman redeemed haunts as much as it inspires."--Elle Johnson, Executive Producer of Bosch, and author of An Officer's Daughter

"Andrea Leeb's powerful memoir, Such a Pretty Picture, is an immensely compelling, tender, honest, and ultimately courageous reckoning with abuse, betrayal, and the false promises of new starts."--Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Kansas Poet Laureate Emeritus, and author of The Magic Eye: A Memoir of Saving a Life and Place in the Age of Anxiety

"Leeb has written my favorite kind of memoir, frantically alive, unflinching, breaking my heart in the best ways. I felt her with me on every page, and by chapter three, we were best friends."--Joshua Mohr, author of Model Citizen

"With exquisite writing, Andrea bravely explores the wounds that shaped her and the healing that comes from confronting her past."--Wendy Adamson, author of Mother Load

"Wrenching, unforgettable, and, ultimately, illuminating, Such a Pretty Picture carried my heart away."--Samantha Dunn, Pulitzer Prize Nominated journalist, and author of Not by Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life

About the Author

Andrea Leeb has an MFA from Bennington Writing Seminars. Her work has been published in numerous journals including Litro Magazine, the Potomac Review, Text Power and Telling Magazine, and HerStry. Previously, Andrea worked as an attorney and a registered nurse. Currently, she spends her time writing, practicing yoga and volunteering with non-profits. Andrea lives in Venice Beach, California with her husband, Paul.