Living Dead Girl

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time, I didn’t know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.
Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.
This is Alice’s story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

The author does an incredible job of describing Alice's terror and confusion, as well as her eventual numbness. There are many details worked into the story that have a ring of truth, including the dull repetition of her days watching tv, the anxiety when Ray comes home, the punishments meted out for small infractions, the attempts to keep her small and childlike, Alice's lank appearance and poor circulation from lack of nutrition, etc. Most importantly, the author touches on the way abuse tends to perpetrate more abuse and the awful resignation that Alice begins to feel to her plight.

I don't understand why my shell keeps living. Breathing. Why won't it listen to me, to the little part I have that isn't Ray, to that tiny once upon a time girl who just wants to close her eyes and never wake up again?

This is not an easy book to read. While it is not explicit, the terrible things that Alice is subjected to are not glossed over. This book will move you. This book will make you mad. This book will cause you to feel something. You might not like the way it makes you feel but you will feel. It is such a haunting and unforgettable story. I think I will find that even though I have finished this book, it’s going to linger with me for some time. I think it is a cry for help for ALL children trapped in this kind of situation. It's a cry for everyone to pay attention to what is going on around them, ask questions, don't just shrug off your suspicions. People in these situations often cannot fend for themselves, or make the move to free themselves, so others need to be more proactive in watching for the signs. I would suggest that everyone above the age of 18 read this book.