Welcome to my review of Julie’s Journey by Julie Mulholland. I came across this while researching a project. It was mentioned on The Survivor’s Trust website under memoirs. I didn’t initially realise it was so short but it sounded interesting and I was keen to read it. I found it easily on amazon as a Kindle Unlimited read.
“I’m Julie. I’m a mother, and a grandmother, working hard at my job as a care support worker, a job I love, living in a house in County Durham. I love every day of my lovely beautiful life, a life built out of the ashes of an absolute Hell of child abuse. I have been trying to write my story for nearly a quarter of a century but the memories were so awful, the anger and pain so bad, that no matter how far I’d get, I’d tear up the hand-written notes, or delete those on the computer. I’ve had nightmares, depression, been suicidal, nearly been sectioned, and all because of years of abuse at the hands of an evil man, my stepfather.
Writing this has been so emotional, and I’ve still had to cut parts out. Some parts I can’t remember; other parts, like social services’ records, were destroyed. But my story shows how people can suffer horrific abuse as a child, and not only survive, but flourish, and have a happy life, filled with the joys of kids, grandkids, friends and a safe home.”
This is possibly the shortest book I have ever read at just 23 pages, but the information and inspiration packed into those pages would be enough to cover a whole novel.
Julie’s Journey describes Julie’s life. From growing up as a child, neglected and sexually abused, and mistreated by her mother, mainly but others, Julie writes about her experiences and the impact those experiences had on her life. Julie is brave and courageous in sharing her story and offers hope for others in similar situations now that she is grown and has children and grandchildren. This is the horrific but inspiring story of Julie’s Journey.
While I can’t say that I found this to be an enjoyable read, it was interesting to read someone’s story so harrowing yet told in so few words with relatively little emotion. I felt concerned that Julie hadn’t come to terms with her situation well and processed it enough, but I am sure that it’s more of a survivor’s way of dealing with things to speak about them so remotely as if they happened to someone else. I didn’t feel the raw impact and connection I expected to feel reading this.
Nevertheless, it was inspiring to find that so much was told in so few pages. Most of all, Julie’s Journey shows that despite the worst upbringings, the distress and depression caused that things can and do come good in the end. Life goes on, and you can survive such tragedies.
Julie writes that it has taken her over 25 years to write this book since she first had the idea, and I think the book is all the better for that. The other experience has added impact and additional time to show that, though it will always be a part of her past, it doesn’t need to be a part of her future or how she treats her own family.
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| Title | Julie’s Journey |
| Author | Jullie Mulholland |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | Kindle |
| Page Count | 23 Pages |
| Genre | Biography |
| Publisher | Self-Published |
| Release Date | 28th February 2022 |
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