Florence St John

Florence St. John explores the complexity and resilience of three generations of women in her family. Daughter and mothers, sisters and cousins, all tangled in a knot. Despite their differences, there is an unbreakable connection that keeps them together. Recounting her childhood experiences, she reveals her family's dysfunction and sheds light on codependency issues. Overcoming the obstacles of her childhood, Florence made that promise that she wouldn't treat her daughter in the same "awful" way her parents treated her. No, she would do things differently. But when her daughter turned sixteen, she fell into a depression and began cutting herself. Florence tried everything to get her daughter back on track, but nothing seemed to work. She soon realized that, in many ways, her daughter represented herself growing up, with all the same anxieties and doubts that she had experienced. She looks back on her life as a child of an alcoholic father and absent mother to find answers.

Florence grew up in a small town on Long Island during the feminist movement. She struggled to figure out where her place was in the world. Growing up in a dysfunctional family and unable to achieve her educational goals, she believed her only option was to get married. Sheltered within the institution of marriage, she thought it was a safe place to hide. However, the outside world has a way of creeping in. After thirty years, she is faced with a divorce and the inevitable. She had to make it on her own.

When Florence stops feeding Daniel's thirst for her money, he makes an excuse to leave, but invites her to come and stay with him at his house in New York. Even though Florence knows exactly what he is, and the game he's playing, she has a plan to get some of her money back and takes him up on his offer. Hidden inside his house is something of value and she is determined to find it.

Have you ever been swept off your feet by a charming, handsome man only to find his declarations of love were false? If so, you will be interested to learn that maybe you were entangled with a sociopath.Florence St. John is looking for a second chance at love. Just as she's about to give up on romance, Daniel Weaver contacts her through their class website. Handsome and charming, he says all the right things to make her fall in love with him. Florence doesn't know that Daniel is a master manipulator. Coming up with one scheme after another, he convinces her to finance his sketchy endeavors to earn money. As he slowly takes control of her life, Florence finds herself on an emotional roller coaster, desperately trying to regain her independence. Entangled in love, money, and the dream, she realizes his game and struggles to take back her life. This is an intelligently written memoir that helps readers understand the psychology of a sociopath. The story is told from a first-person narrative perspective that is utterly absorbing. Florence's prose is exquisite, the tone powerful and irresistible, and the events well-constructed to keep the reader moving from page to page. I felt that it was one of the best portraits of a sociopath I have read after Thomas Harris' novels. From the very beginning, the author offers readers powerful insights into the personality of a sociopath: "The sociopath's most deadly weapon is the charm offensive - but beware... it's superficial charm and lacks an atom of sincerity... Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite