Reviewed by Preston Lemoine for Readers' Favorite

In Turned Around, Valeri McCarthy opens up about what it takes to outlive a volatile childhood and finally take back the reins of your own life. Looking back at her early years in southern Indiana, she describes the exhaustion of living with an unpredictable father, where anticipating his next move became a necessity for survival. Her recollections include witnessing a dinner-table assault between her parents at a young age, a failed runaway attempt with her goldfish at age seven, and her parents’ eventual separation outside a bar when she was ten. After losing her first love at thirteen in a train accident, she faced financial struggles, housing instability, and high school couch-surfing. In her adulthood, she navigated a workplace sexual assault at nineteen, an abusive first marriage involving a fireplace poker threat, a severe stalking incident, and a terrifying date where a man cut her hair. She eventually built financial security in Pasadena as a law firm Director of Operations, reconciling with her father right before his sudden death, and transitioning into a writer and painter. This raw memoir connects these difficult memories to show how a person can look back at their history, untangle the past, and finally provide the protection they always needed as a child.

Valeri McCarthy’s memoir, Turned Around, is a deeply moving account. McCarthy writes with zero flowery padding, giving readers a clear sense of her day-to-day survival across decades. Her time as an office administrator in Pasadena is particularly thought-provoking because it contrasts sharply with her early years of sleeping on couches and dealing with family turbulence. The author’s voice is unfiltered, refreshingly frank, and surprisingly humorous at times, ensuring the pages practically turn themselves while steering clear of excessive self-pity or endless analysis. The way she describes her fainting spells and struggles with bulimia reminds readers that stress damages the body over time. After everything she went through, it is a relief when she finally establishes boundaries against predatory behavior in the corporate world. McCarthy’s transformation into a children’s author and artist is a highly satisfying conclusion to a lifetime of struggle. I wholeheartedly recommend this memoir if you’re looking for an honest look at what resilience looks like and how powerful it is to claim your own life.