The Only Girl in the World is an extraordinary memoir about madness, control and the survival of horrific childhood abuse.

Maude Julien's father Louis chose his future wife and mother of his child, Jeannine, when she was only six and he was 34. He became Jeannine's guardian by promising her family that he would provide her with a quality education.

Then: "Twenty-two years after he took possession of Jeannine, Louis Didier decided the time had come for her to bring his daughter into the world... Louis Didier liquidated his assets, bought a house near Cassel, between Lille and Dunkirk, and withdrew to live there... to devote himself entirely to carrying out the project he had devised back in 1936: to make his child a superhuman being. That child was me." loc 73, ebook.

Unfortunately, to "make his child a superhuman" involved leaving her alone in a dark, rat-infested basement, sleeping in a room without heat, eating stale bread, practicing music for 12 or more hours a day and being entirely separated from any other children her age.

That's where Maude got the title of this memoir: The Only Girl in the World

I have not read a childhood account this disturbing since A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer.

Maude's father was unhinged. "My father is convinced that the mind can achieve anything. Absolutely anything: it can overcome every danger and conquer every obstacle. But to do this requires long, rigorous training away from the impurities of this dirty world." loc 247, ebook.

He asks Maude to do things he cannot do like perform somersaults or swim in freezing water. He shows no affection to either his child or his wife.

Louis makes the females of the house wait on him as if he is an invalid. He makes his child hold a chamber pot each morning while he empties his bladder.

He's a controlling monster.

Louis has strange beliefs about water and soap removing the body's immunities so he insists that Maude only bathes once a week or less. And, when she is finally given the opportunity to bathe, she must use his dirty bathwater to "take strength from him."

And she can't count on protection from her mother, who was groomed by Louis to do anything he asks of her. Jeannine actually blames Maude for Louis taking them to live in the middle of nowhere. It is very sad.

Maude's only friends are her pets, whom her father abuses as much as he hurts Maude. "Can an animal teach a person about happiness? In the depth of my despair, I am fortunate to have this incredible source of joy." loc 685, ebook.

Even worse, Maude is abused by the few adults Louis allows in their lives. (Trigger warnings for those who were sexually or physically abused as children.)

Though incredibly disturbing, The Only Girl in the World is ultimately a story of survival against all odds. The human spirit is incredibly resilient as Maude's tale illustrates.

Perhaps she is more superhuman than even she realizes. Highly recommended.

This book was a bit odd although a captivating read. It is amazing that Maude survived and was able to live a fairly normal life after the abuse she suffered. I would have liked to see some backstory on the parents. Did Maude research their lives before she was born? Were they really her parents? Did she have other relatives?

Thank you netgalley for providing me with a galley to read in exchange for a fair review.

This is a completely believable, scary book about a girl who spent her entire childhood in isolation. She was tortured by her crazy father until she was able to escape through her marriage.

The only criticism I have of this book, is that the unrelenting horror of Maude's life became overwhelming and hard to continue reading. This is not the fault of the author, she was only fairly reporting on her life with her parents.

Something I've noticed: when children are abused, animals are able to provide great comfort.

TW: sexual abuse, physical abuse, self harm, emotional abuse, animal cruelty/abuse, suicidal thoughts

In the vein of “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls, this memoir explores the traumatic and a vastly different childhood from the “typical” western one. We follow Maude, an only child who grew up in France, completely isolated and cut off from the world for all her childhood. She was raised in a way where her father forced her to do physically train to survive under horrible conditions like being locked in a dark ray cellar for hours, intense physical activities after midnight, and left for days without food, etc.

From a young age, she was taught to not smile or show any emotion, that the world is a big bad place and people can kidnap her, that she should be taught to survive WWII era conditions. She was never shown any love or affection from her mother or father, because that was for “weak” people and she was a “superior being”. She could only bath in dirty water once a week after her father and mother did, and had to take out the chamber pot for her elderly father. There was a very strict schedule and no time for idleness. You get the picture, how absolutely messed up this family was.

All of her precious animals where abused, her dog chained up all day only let out for a couple hours at night, her horse forced to drink alcohol (incidentally she was also forced to drink alcohol since a very young age so that she could learn how to hold it down.)

While reading personal memoirs like this, I always find it extremely difficult to rate someone's life, so I tend to focus on the writing and coherent flow. In this instance, the writing was extremely straightforward, but the author focused on the same details of every day life, not necessarily on the big picture.

I usually like the memoir to be a bit more self reflective and introspective, which this lacked. Know that you're getting a very specific period of time, and I was waiting for more content in Maude adult life, like the psychological affects of her extremely hard upbringing; and was extremely pleased to know that she had become a therapist herself. She had survived so much brokenness and fear and darkness, that my heart was breaking for this child on every page as well.

One of the most important elements that I look for in memoirs is relatability. To my surprise from, from the initial synopsis I was doubtful, there were several very personal aspects that I strongly understood how it felt like. For example the love that your animals give you when you care about them, the way music makes you feel strong emotions, the way that she was homeschooled and didn't learn the material she was supposed to know , the way books let you escape into a completely different world.

I felt like because the author put these lights in between the cracks of darkness; which is why I could really enjoy and appreciate the story as a whole more. If you love reading cult books, I would put this one in your hands if we were at a bookstore. The abusive manipulative father is a religious fanatic who has created his own religion and is trying to force it down his child brides’ and chosen daughters’ throat. This is truly a touchingly dark memoir that really makes you think and re-examine your own life and that is always a good sign that the author has done their job.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

The most horrendous, compelling account of small girl locked into a horror story by her father. He is clearly mentally ill and is paranoid, reclusive and obsessive and makes Maude, from a very young age, endure torture both physical and mental and a total lack of any kindness or nurture. He picked Maude's Mother as a six year old girl, took her for himself and when she was old enough, used her to produce a child that he could teach to be superhuman. Just as I thought that, horrible as Maude's life was at least she wasn't being sexually abused, we find out that she is by a dirty old man and that her parents must be aware of it. The story could make you weep but Maude is the bravest of the brave and somehow manages to rise against her father - even though she loves him despite everything - and escape. A book written without any self-pity, it is a startling reminder of man's inhumanity to man.

Since I did not, could not finish this book I will not rate it or review in on public sites. I appreciate the effort that the author has gone through and the courage that it must have taken to survive and also to write this book. Being the mother of four daughters and three granddaughters it was just too disturbing for me to finish. I'm afraid I couldn't recommend this book.

It always amazes me the evil humans can do to one another, in this book that evil is done by a father to his daughter. What Maude goes through is absolutely gut wrenching I honestly can't even image it. I find her beyond strong to have survived and become a productive member of society is a testament to Maude's tenacity .

The only girl in the world : a memoir by Maude Julien was one of the most heart wrenching books I have ever read.
This book is hard to read, not in a "I'm bored " kind of way but in a "I can't stop wiping my tears from the defenslessness of this poor little girl." Many times I had to put the book down to process what I had just read, many times I thought to myself -there's no way this book can be a memoir!?
As hard of a read as this book is, it is such an important one to read. There is so much going on in the world, so many stories from the "girl next door " similar to this that we need to pay attention to.
The type of abuse that was going on for years behind this tall fence is horrendous, her father was a monster, her mother a cult member, and Maude a poor, manipulated victim.

Thank you to Little Brown and Company and to NetGalley.

I am finding it difficult to rate this book. It is filled with pain and heartbreak. Every page is uncomfortable, shocking, and filled with horror. I cannot imagine living it.

Maude had her childhood stolen by the two people that were supposed to protect her and show her love. Instead, she was put through horrible trials to test her. She was not allowed to be a child, and any signs of crying and needing affection were considered weakness. I do not know how a person, let alone a child, survives that.

Absolutely heartbreaking story.

Interesting book but did not move as quickly as I had hoped. Narrator took so much time explaining every detail that I felt like I'd never get to the heart of the story.
Nevertheless, it ended up being a decent read and I would recommend it.

How to rate such a book????

In the beginning....

Maude's Father (Maude being the protagonist and the Author of this Memoir) approached Maude's Mother's family when her Mother was five or six years old. Maude's Father was wealthy and said he would care for and raise their child. So Maude's Mother's family gave their young daughter to him. Are you following me? How sick is this? So Maude's Mother goes to live with Maude's father when she is a child and is raised by him and when the time is "right" they have Maude who is to be a "superior being." There is some serious Ick factor going on in this book. He chooses a 5 or 6 year old to raise and then have a child with - a superior being if you will.

So Maude is a young girl who lives with very strict rules. Idleness and doing nothing is not permitted. She is to be busy at all times. She is home schooled and kept in virtual isolation as her father tells her she could be kidnapped at any time - just like the Lindbergh baby. Thus, begins the emotional abuse. Love and affection are also no-no's. Maude lives in an environment where she is afraid all the time. Both her Mother and Father will strike (hit) her if she does the wrong thing. She is forced to stay in the cellar/basement in darkness as part of her training i.e. the Meditation on Death. She is permitted to bathe once per week in the same bathwater that her Father and Mother have bathed in. She is to consider this an honor to bathe in the dirty water of her Father. Puke-a-rama. Seriously, gross.

She is allowed pets but they also live sad dreary lives. Her dog is kept caged up for long periods of time and is only allowed out after dark. Her horse and pony are subjected to harsh treatment and the pony is forced to drink alcohol. Such a lovely family : (

Besides her harsh upbringing and stick rules, Maude is also sexually abused/molested by the gardener. As I read, I just kept thinking could her life get any worse. She lives in constant fear, is constantly put down for not living up to her father's high standards.

As I was reading I kept wondering why none of the people who came into her life - music teachers, the man who butchered the animals, etc. noticed that there was something seriously wrong in this house. Why did this child not go to school, why did she never play with other children, why did she wear strange clothing, why does she have scars, etc?

Eventually Maude does get out of her parents home and eventually finds happiness and a career. She details how she benefited from therapy and decided to become a therapist herself.

Needless to say this is not a Happy-go-lucky memoir. It is raw, sad and heartbreaking. I read this book in one sitting. It is disturbing and will stir emotions and make the reader angry. How Maude survived her horrendous childhood is impressive and shocking. Her father was definitely mentally ill and incredibly abusive. Her Mother was like someone with Stockholm syndrome. She was at times worse to Maude than Maude's father was. Maude also compared her Mother to a person in a cult who has been brainwashed.

Reader beware this is a dark sad memoir. It begins with ugliness and ends with hope.

I received a copy of this book from Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you hadn't told me that this was a memoir, I would have kept reading completely thinking that this work was fiction. I don't have the words to express the horror that Maude experienced at the hands of her parents. Trapped by a father who was trying to create a super-human, and recieving no mercy from her mother who was just as trapped, Maude defied all odds and made it out. At the end, you are relieved to no longer have to read about the torture Maude experienced. The resilience and support that Maude shows is insirpring.

The Only Girl in the World is an inspiring testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Maude Julien’s childhood was defined by the iron grip of her father, who was convinced his daughter was destined for great deeds. His plan began when he adopted Maude’s mother and indoctrinated her with his esoteric ideals. Her mission was to give him a daughter as blonde as she was, and then to take charge of the child’s education. That child was Maude, on whom her father conducted his outrageous experiment to raise the perfect ‘super-human’ being.

The three lived in an isolated mansion in northern France, where her father made her undergo endless horrifying endurance tests. Maude had to hold an electric fence without flinching. Her parents locked her in a cellar overnight and ordered her to sit still on a stool in the dark, contemplating death, while rats scurried at her feet....

This was heart breaking to read at times and also does hold an element of over coming such awful circumstances, really recommend reading this.

This was a very strange memoir. The story of this girl who was kept alone by her family felt completely fake. I never felt connected with the author or felt that she was real. At times, the narrative was both creepy and boring simultaneously.

Raised in isolation, Maude Julien's experiences are harrowing and matter-of-fact. She records her childhood at the hands of her father, whose cultish control of both Julien and her mother included dictating their meals, sleep schedules, and access to education. This includes physical and emotional abuse, as well as the mistreatment of animals. Miraculously, Julien survives these torments and develops a mind of her own, eventually escaping her family. It's a relief and a joy to read how she overcomes a childhood rife with abuse.

Most of the time when I think of child abuse I think of adults who cannot control their tempers or who sexually abuse children or who neglect them. I don't think of people who purposefully set out to conceive and raise a child who knows no tenderness or care. Showing emotions such as fear or love--or even showing that you had a preference about things was considered a weakness in her family and weaknesses were things to be eliminated.

Maude was removed from school when she was four and the family moved to a large estate. Her contact with outsiders became less and less frequent until she was a teen. She managed to "escape" because a tutor realized how bad things were and convinced her parents that things would be worse at his school.

Surprisingly, Maude made it out alive, and with her sense of humanity intact. My heartstrings tugged as a read what happened to her as a child and I kept wondering how many people had any idea what was happening to her. I kept wondering what could have been done to help her. As a volunteer who works with children in my Catholic parish, I have to attend "Safe Environment" training regularly and one of the topics is recongizing characteristics of abused children. Hopefully, if I ever have an abused child in my groups I will recongize it and be able to help the child.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: B+

I kept having to remind myself that this was a memoir not a work of fiction. Horrifying read that I could not put down! Highly recommended! Read alike - The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls.

This was a difficult read because of how the dad treated his daughter. It was interesting to read it, though.

It is hard to believe a person could actually live through the terrible emotional and physical trauma that the author endured and come out even somewhat intact. While the story at times seemed unbelievable in its cruelty, the details were proof that someone could not invent such a story. I kept turning the pages to find out if ever there was relief for her; kept turning the pages to find out if she rebelled; kept turning the pages to find out what happened to her parents. I wished only that I knew more about her current relationship with her parents and if she ever confronted them. This is a perfect book for readers who enjoy memoirs about overcoming very difficult childhoods like Glass Castle and Liar's Club.