Flowers in the Attic has been on my radar for a good few years now. I have routinely seen people in the book community talk about how messed up and twisty it is. As an avid fan of questionable dark romance, I was intrigued. Did my curiosity pan out? Yes, indeed.
In this we follow four children -- Cathy, Chris, Cory, and Carrie -- who are taken to their grandparents house after the death of their father. Once there their Mother tells them to stay in the Attic and not make a sound whilst she persuades her religious father into accepting them. Years pass without freedom. Isolated in the mansions Attic, the two oldest become like parents to the younger two, raising them as best they can in the confined space.
As they age and play the role of parents to Carrie and Cory, puberty and hormones rise confusing Cathy and Chris, emotions and physical needs cloud their judgement.
Their Grandmother is very religious and routinely punish the children for any acts she deems as ungodly. Those sections of the book were hard to read. It gave me Carrie by Stephen King vibes.
Overall, this novel held my interest from the very first page. I did the audiobook as though talented at voicing the characters, I will die happily if I never have to hear her whiny tone for the youngest two again. Never before have I wanted children less, heh.
Though a bit lengthy, this is definitely a page turner so time moves quickly. The lack of remorse the Mother had sparks an anger in me which alone shows how impactful this novel was.
If you don't want to read about religious punishments or incest, maybe give this a miss. It was certainly some level of Gothic literature. Atmospheric and dark.
Have you picked up this modern classic? I'd love to know your thoughts.
- Anne. X
I love a good photo diary, so here's some snapshots of my day out to the Santa Cruz Fair, 2026. We went on Friday, September 19th. It was fairly (heh) quiet which was wonderful as it gave us the opportunity to browse the Harvest room and Art Gallery. I took some photos of my favourites. People are incredibly talented. Here's one for the memory books.
The room of flowers was a highlight for me. The colors and smells tickled all my good senses. I especially found the cowboy boot fun, it reminded me of my Granddad.
We got a tour of the Rodgers House which will be another post entirely, but I wanted to say how much I love when community events like this offer free tours of things you'd otherwise not experience. It makes the price of entry for the fair seem reasonable. It shows you can have just enough money for entry and still have a blast.
What's a fair without over the top food? We picked a potato stand for lunch and indulged in a biscoff cinnamon roll which was as good as it sounds. There was also a stop for coffee which was much needed.
Dollar Tree/Store Haul || August, 2026
8/23/2026
PT, OT, and Stairs, Oh My!
8/20/2026
Today I went up four steps and back down, multiple times. That is the first time I've done that in over 10 months. So, with that under my belt, I figured what better time to talk about my OT/PT experiences.
When I got a bit more stable we started to partake in physical therapy. To start with, it was merely a 30 minute session on just trying to get my fingers to move. I was as weak as a stray kitten and my limbs showed it. I lost a lot of weight when I was unconscious so naturally my muscle mass went away. I was stone and jello and I'm still trying to figure out how that was.
But as with anything, time moved forward and I gradually found myself being able to hold a hand, turn my neck, move my jaw. I was mute for a decent while, a tracheostomy blocking my voice. I hated that. Me and my husband tested and trailed various methods in a bid for me to communicate with him. It started with some looking up or looking down for yes or no. Then once I could get a bit clearer in the head, he would hold up a sheet of letters and go line by line, letter to letter, trying to figure out what I was asking or saying. I'd be lying if I said it was probably the most frustrating experience of both our lives. I would end up getting upset at myself and throwing in the towel, leaving him feeling helpless. If you're ever in that situation, I can't stress enough that both of you have to show a tremendous amount of patience. It is vital.
And again, time moved forward and I started to get more control over my body. This was months of work so forgive me tor jumping ahead to now, but I want to document where I was upon returning home in June 2026 to now.
PT at the hospital was vital to my recovery and I can't show enough thankfulness to the ARU in Dominican Hospital in Sequel, California, for all their help. I had two regular physical therapists who got me from A to B in a matter of weeks. It took effort on all our parts, but as I'll continue to say; I am my Mother's daughter. Stubbornness is in my genetics.
Coming home had an element of shock. It was like traveling alone for the first time, you were solely responsible for your well being. I kept and do keep a solid routine with moving my body beyond the two sessions of at-home physical therapy I get each week. I've found setting a timer and listening to an audiobook whilst doing my reps helpful as it distracts me well enough and I'm doing something I enjoy whilst pushing myself. So, if you're getting PT and struggle to motivate yourself, I recommend that. Even a 20 minute sitcom could be an option. Move for every minute of that show and then take a rest. Got it in you for another episode? Do it.
I find there's a balancing act of being in control of your own PT. It's very easy to keep putting it off in a bid to do something more enjoyable and not as exhausting. But you have to put in the work to reach your goals. I had the goal of being able to bridge for literal months until I could, but it was there. My finish line. So I worked towards it. Now I bridge everyday when I'm dressing myself.
So, yeah. Today I walked up four steps which gives me the option of watching TV in a different room. Will I? Probably not as I never did before, but I have the option and that's a reward in and of itself.
Oh, cute workout clothes help too. Just FYI.
- Death of an infant
- Cheating
- Abuse
- Violence
If you think you can handle that, I'd recommend this book. It had me in a choke hold from the first abrupt sentence of "Whore. There was no other way to describe Lucy." sets the tone for a novel of passion, pain, and love.
Though dislikeable at times, I thoroughly enjoyed the unapologetic way the author wrote each character. Nothing felt glossed over to seem pretty.
All in all, a solid 4 star read.
Thank you to Libro.fm for the ALC.
"I don't appreciate clouds enough", words I said today whilst sitting in my wheelchair under the puffs of white decorating the blue sky. I spent the better end of 7 months in the hospital. You know in that Buffy part in 'Once More With Feeling' when she sings "hey, I died twice"? Yeah, I did that three times. Not to start a competition, but hey, I'd win. I just don't have the nifty slayer powers.
It started with some poor judgment on my side (which I'll get into in a future post as I have yet to find the right words) and a bipap vomiting situation. But for context let's start with my initial hospital stay. I went in on November 11th, 2025.because my body was losing strength. I could not hold down food, my body was swelling uncontrollably which was causing my kidneys to be a risk due to my illness of acute intermittent Porphyria. My stomach was loaded with acid and I was overall not doing well. I had been hospitalized earlier in the year for similar symptoms but not half as as bad as this time. The only option was to put me on a ventilator to promote oxygen. My nausea was a constant battle I'd been facing for close to a year but it was getting to the point of me being unable to eat or drink anything. Did I mention I was seriously weak? Enter here the bipap machine. I was left unattended and threw up into the thing, causing it to shoot the fluid back down into my lungs causing sever damage.
This all led to them putting me on life support, hoping to restore some of the damage caused to my lungs. Then I had a heart attack. My body was under too much stress turning it into a lethal weapon to itself. I got through it. Once seen as stable enough, they pulled me off sedation.
The rest is fuzzy to both me and my loved ones. I remember celebrating when I could finally hold a spoon to feed myself soup. The pain and misgivings of learning to walk again, as my body had detreated from being put under. Regaining the strength felt like a long process. I wish I knew that'd be the easy part.
I was two days before getting released, on Christmas eve no less, when I could a cold. Given my immune system not being up to par, it immediately turned into pneumonia. It felt like a snap of the fingers and I was backtracking again. My scans were gradually getting worse. I was desatting. My oxygen levels were getting alarmingly low again, but my husband vouched for no bipap machine given the first time. I was moved from the ARU back to the ICU. I was getting worse and worse so they put me back under in the hopes that it'd give my body time to recover. So here I was again, back on ventilator, back on ECMO (Extra Corporeal membrane oxygenation), and playing the waiting game.
I don't remember anything when I was under, I know some people do and others don't. I think I'm fortunate to be the latter. My Mother went through a similar medical experience and remembers every minute of being locked inside her own mind. How she isn't without sanity for that is beyond my understanding. It takes a lot of strength.
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