Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Where You End and I Begin explores the relationship between a mother and daughter. This relationship is often one that is the most complicated in most people's lives and is no different in McLaren's. McLaren explored the idea that trauma in her mother's childhood extends out and becomes intergenerational trauma.

As a mother with daughters, this book made me more confused and uncomfortable than anything else. Throughout the entire book, I found myself just kind of staring at the page, wondering how any mother could be so neglectful and abandon her child in the ways described in the book. Granted, I have never had trauma in my life like the trauma experienced by the author’s mother when she was a child, but I was still left in shock. Overall, this was a tough, and not altogether enjoyable, read for me.

So many readers enjoy memoirs, and this is a good choice. It is a mother-daughter story where the mother was a victim of sexual abuse when she was a young teenager. The author explores how that experience -- like so much trauma in families -- has a ripple effect, not just on her mother but on her and her entire family, probably for generations to come. There's no finger-pointing here, no tell-all sensationalism. The author is balanced, forgiving and kind. I look forward to recommending this, particularly to readers who enjoy memoirs.