Chasing Eden A Memoir

Cherilyn is desperate for a ‘normal’ life, brought up by deeply religious fundamentalist parents- she craves structure, education, friends and a proper family home. Her family has moved over thirty times in her twenty years and often to places without electricity, heat or running water.

Chasing Eden is the heartbreaking yet poignant story of the authors childhood. It grabs you from the first page until the very last, the writing is so good you almost feel like you’re there with her.

I really hope there is a sequel, I’m desperate to read more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This memoir about a young girl growing up in a fundamentalist family is hard to put down. The resilience of Cherilyn and her siblings is amazing. You can't help but cheer her on in her quest for live like "normal" families and eventually find her freedom.

What an enjoyable memoir. I felt I was living each moment with Cherie and found myself holding my breath many times hoping that at last life may change for her. While living our comfortable middle class lives, it is easy to forget there is great poverty and hardship hiding in plain sight.

Highly recommended.

A sad tale of a girl forced to become isolated from society and her peers by her religious parents. Terrified of 'The Persuader", the belt her father used to beat her and her siblings, required as a five year old to look after her newborn and baby siblings, forced to toe the line and follow her family wherever they decided. Denied an education and isolated from her grandparents and anyone and anything that her parents decided wasn't appropriate. Well-written and very sad. It makes one wonder how many other children are living on the edges of society like this family. Thought provoking.

Chasing Eden is an incredibly well written memoir that was hard to read and nearly impossible to put down.
I have no doubt that somewhere in all this dysfunction there is a lot of love, but there were so many times throughout the story that I just felt like screaming & “persuading” the parents to do better for their children! I could feel the stress, confusion, and guilt from Cherilyn being forced to lie, and the fear of saying the wrong things. I felt the tension of “frozen statues” as if I were there hiding from Mr Roth myself. Even now after having had time to step away and process Cherilyn’s story, I can still feel this exhausting, heavy feeling of waiting and waiting and waiting, wasting so much time holding out hope for something I know will never be.
I would love to read more about how things played out for Cherilyn and her family and how things are for them now. I’m curious to know how her family has reacted to her writing a memoir and wonder if her mom has ever shared some of her thoughts. I also wonder if Estle knew the truth about Cherilyn’s family life.

Thank you Cherilyn Christen Clough for sharing your truth

"If a girl screams in the chaos and no one hears her, does she still exist?"

Chasing Eden is a fascinating memoir about a young girl's upbringing in a fundamentalist religious and abusive family and how she found the faith and strength to not only endure but escape that environment. Clough movingly recounts growing up moving from state to state, living in countless different houses, motels, trailers, cabins and even tents. Her childhood was consequently disrupted and she missed out on an education, forming lasting friendships and experiencing those childhood and teenage milestones so many of us take for granted. Throughout, Clough find strength in her "superpowers": her elephant memory, telling the truth and rocking.

This was an astonishingly captivating read; I found myself unable to put it down. I was struck by the bravery of the author in managing to endure such testing circumstances throughout her entire childhood and adolescence including the horrific physical and emotional abuse she was subjected to by her own family. I also hugely admire the courage it must have taken for her to reach a point where she felt ready to share her story with the world. The book was well written and was fairly easy to read, although there are numerous explicit mentions of physical and emotional abuse. Around halfway through I did start to find that it was getting a bit repetitive and wonder if it would have been possible to shave parts off, particularly as the book was fairly long. Overall, though, a gripping read which I would recommend.

Cherilyn dreams of being normal. She wants to go to school and make friends, but her parents are religious fanatics. They isolate the family and move constantly throughout her childhood. It's not until she's 18 that she finally finds the courage to express her opinions and break free.
This book is heartbreaking. In every chapter, I hoped that Cherilyn's parents would decide to provide her with stability, but that never happens. I did find hope in Cherie's ability to speak the truth, though.
I recommend "Chasing Eden: A Memoir" to readers who are interested in child development, family dynamics, religious abuse, and education. It's also a powerful example of what happens when we decide to stand up for ourselves and live the normal of our dreams.
Trigger warning: This book contains emotional, physical and other abuse throughout.

This is such a powerful story. It reminded me some of 'Educated', which was a huge top seller the past year. It was hard to read at times, because of the abuse that Cherilyn experienced, and my heart broke for her so many times. But her strength and endurance are admirable. I was rooting for her the whole time. She does an amazing job of describing her past, and many times I felt like I was right there with her. The end of the book mentions that she is writing a sequel, which I'm looking forward to reading as well. I would love to hear the rest of her story and what she did after the events at the end of this book.

I'm not usually a fan of memoirs, but this story really pulled me in. For such a stark and disturbing theme, it had some really funny parts. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Child & animal abuse abound.

This is a long, hard-hitting book which will not be for every reader. Particularly if you are in a fragile emotional or mental state - it certainly won't leave you feeling good and I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It will however hopefully leave you feeling a sense of hope. Cheri will bring you back and remind you of that childlike innocence and curiosity and having that sense of wonder about people and the world. She will hopefully encourage you that no matter how short the straw is that you're given, to believe in dreams and to never give up.

This book captivated me from start to finish. I love the relatable feeling I got with read it. The struggle she went through to get to her dreams and vision for life, using wisdom and grace through each decision was inspiring. The true story made it even better. I always love a good, true, honest, down to earth story to read.

It's easy for a memoir to feel self-inflated and trudge along, but this was far from the case with Chasing Eden. Completely engrossing, we get to follow the author through memories of her childhood up until the beginnings of young adulthood, as she deals with her family's dysfunction and their increasing intentional withdrawal from society.

Clough's writing and experiences reminded me of Jeannette Walls' in The Glass Castle - both dark and unsettling in ways, but there is still love there. Overall a fascinating, captivating look at her childhood and the circumstances of religious fundamentalism. I'm looking forward to a re-read.

Often compared to Educated and the Glass Castle, Chasing Eden is a memoir of isolation and the craving for education and freedom.

Although there are similarities, Chasing Eden is a winner all on it's own and a definite must read.

"Chasing Eden: A Memoir" by Cherilyn Clough is a poignant and deeply personal exploration of one woman's journey through faith, family, and the search for her own identity. Clough's narrative is both heart-wrenching and hopeful, as she candidly shares her experiences growing up in a restrictive religious environment and her eventual path towards self-discovery and freedom. Her writing is intimate and evocative, painting vivid pictures of both the struggles and the triumphs she faces along the way. "Chasing Eden" is not just a memoir but a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, making it an inspiring read for anyone who has ever felt the need to break free and find their own path. Clough's story is a moving reminder of the power of courage, faith, and the unyielding quest for personal truth.