Broken: The Most Shocking True Story of Abuse Ever Told Paperback – September 18, 2008

Horrible to understand the reality that this evil exist in our world. The consolation is knowing in the final results not only that these people go to jail but they will rot in hell. As difficult as this was to read, I applaud her courage to tell this story. How tremendously brave she is.

I found this story terribly disturbing. I also found I could not stop reading it until I had read the whole book in one session. As a man who finds this behavior appalling, I find myself wanting to apologize to and help anyone who was abused by a man. Anyone who treats a child(or an adult) in the way written in this book should be eliminated immediately - there is absolutely no place on this earth where this behavior is acceptable.I am a 54 year old male and I found myself with tears in my eyes often while reading this horrible story. It made me very upset and very sad. To think that this could happen to such an extent(or at all) is just incredible, and really terrible.I think that everyone should read this book - first, to put into perspective ones own life and second, to remind us that all of our actions have consequences. What I mean is this: I was not abused during my upbringing, and I have never abused anyone either. But what came to my mind is that I have certainly over looked events that I should have investigated or reported. None of these events were anything horrible as Shy went through, but they were events that may have had an adverse effect on someone. And I did nothing. I am sad and ashamed of myself now.I know I am a bit off topic here, this book was about child abuse, but I just wanted to say that reading this book has changed the way I look at events that happen in my every day life. I hope I will never again ignore any sign of a problem.

This book is a devastating first-person account of child abuse. No, not just abuse but almost the obliteration of a child by the people who should be protecting her the most - her parents - a mother and stepfather. And the system that should have helped protect her - from teachers to neighbors to relatives to police to Child Services - all helped the parents by turning a blind eye and sometimes worse.This woman - and her sister - went through some of the most horrific physical, emotional and sexual abuse I have ever heard or read about and survived. Shy Keenan, the author, went on to help expose and convict her abusers and is now a Chief Advocate, fighting for other children.This book is brutally graphic, gutwrenching. I cried, I cursed, I applauded. I thanked God that there were two couples that gave Keenan enough hope in her bleak world to persevere.NO child should EVER have to endure what Keenan did. I know.

I'm still making my way through this book. Wow, Ive always rolled my eyes at all the folks who say things are triggering, but wow. Ok. To the author: I am so glad you are here, I am so glad you are healing. To the readers: yes, this is abuse. To the people like me who thought it might be inspiring: this is more of a description of her childhood and the torments of abuse, therefor amazingly dark, and for people that have been through it, way too triggering. I'm not really certain who this book is good for, although I don't mean to take away from the author and what she has been working to heal from. Good on ya.

This book is a eye opener to all those people that refuse to see the truth which is that even thought sexual abuse is not a topic that many people talk about it is a problem everywhere. You will find yourself going through a tornado of emotions when reading this book. It is some comfort to people that have gone through similar experiences to know that they are not alone and that they can move forward making there life a positive one. This book even talks about people in power turning a blind eye to such a serious issue. After reading this book you will realize that sexual abuse does not look at color nor social levels it can happen to anyone in any family so please don't think that this can't happen in your family. The author is a very courageous woman to make her story public may everyone that reads this book that has had similar experiences get the same courage as this author to speak out.

"Broken" by Karen "Shy" Keenan is an incredible read. What sets this memoir apart from others of this type of genre is the attention to the stages of recovery one goes through when recovering from abuse.Anyone who has experienced incest/sexual abuse as a child can relate to Keenan's story of surviving long past the actual abuse. Hers is a story of courage and of perseverance; and Keenan handles the telling of her story with the same strength she used to survive her childhood. One cannot help but feel empowered after reading how Keenan pulled through the hell of her childhood.Most memoirs are written to encourage, to teach and to inspire others who may be struggling with like situations, "Broken" does all of these. Keenan asks for no pity, sympathy or praise for overcoming her ordeal, but merely for readers, government agencies and all others to listen to and to protect children from predators of all kinds.

I really give so much credit for how strong this author is. I can't even imagine how hard it must be to put your life story out there when it was so traumatic. From the first page of this book, I wanted to stop reading because it made me feel so sad for Shy Keenan. I continued to read, because I had to know how it all turned out!! This is a heart wrenching story of a young child who really was neglected by almost every adult that was in her life. This is a story that will open your eyes about what kind of monsters are out there and how society sometimes doesn't open there eyes to the truth! Thank you for sharing your story Shy Keenan. God Bless you!

Arrived quickly. Fair condition but definitely not in good enough condition to cost $27