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by Karen Comba (Author)
THE SNIPERS WE COULDN'T SEE is Karen Comba's memoir of rare power, a harrowing and intimate portrait of the far-reaching, generational effects of severe mental illness. Told with determination and searing honesty, this book recounts the shattering details of growing up as the prime target of her schizophrenic mother's mental and physical abuse.
Karen's story is sure to resonate with anyone who was the quiet child who quietly retreated in school--and who felt shame and anxiety as relatives, friends, and neighbors ran as far away as possible from her mother and the situation. Much like Jeanette Walls recounted about herself in The Glass Castle, Karen spent much of her adulthood hoping to bury her own history in the hope that nobody--especially herself--would find it.
Now in her sixties, Karen shares her story as a means to create a more frank dialogue to help heal and inform others. THE SNIPERS WE COULDN'T SEE is a story of survival that is as chilling as it is redemptive.
Back Jacket
Karen Comba's mother was brilliant. She was also schizophrenic.
It is the 1950s when Karen's father, Richard, returns from the Korean War in time to marry Evelyn, his high school sweetheart. He is a talented farmer; she is a brilliant teacher. Together, they sow the seeds of their own American dream. But on this thriving farm in rural Nebraska, a dark secret begins to take hold.Karen was four when her mother first saw bullet holes scattered across the eastern side of their home. More frightening still was the fact that no one else could see them. The Snipers We Couldn't See is Karen Comba's incredible true story of growing up the eldest daughter of a mentally ill mother. It is a memoir of rare power, a harrowing and intimate portrait of the far-reaching, generational effects of severe mental illness.
With determination and searing honesty, Karen's story of survival is as chilling as it is redemptive. The Snipers We Couldn't See is both heartbreaking and triumphant. Above all, this must-read memoir is a rugged and durable love story for anyone who's ever known the pains of mental illness.
