Where You End and I Begin

This is a book that the writing of plays a part in the narrative . Where You End and I Begin is a powerful memoir by Leah McLaren centring around her relationship with her Mother Cessie.
At 8 years-old Leah's life is turned upside down when her parents divorce and Cessie leaves the family home to embark on a life of unwise choices, moving from place to place,job to job and a string of car crash relationships. As a young teenager Leah goes to a party where she makes her own poor choices that leave her traumatised and anxious. On telling Cessie she hears her Mother's dark secret,she was groomed and from the age of 12 had a 3 year relationship with her middle-aged riding instructor.
With the Cessie's childhood experiences having affected both of their lives Mother and Daughter decide to track down "The Horseman" as they label him with Leah deciding to write a book about their quest.........this one,a decision that pushes their relationship to its limits.

The actual search for "The Horseman" doesn't take up much of this book,though it is the catalyst for a large part of it,to explain more would be a spoiler. I say this so those who from the publisher's description are expecting the whole thing to be some kind of detective story,as I did ,realise that it's not.
While it wasn't the book I thought I was going to read it is a very powerful and emotive piece of writing. Leah McLaren pulls no punches and is almost brutally honest about her misadventures as a vulnerable young woman finding her place in the world with very little guidance and her damaged Mother as a role model. There are some quite explicit scenes described which might offend the more shock-able.

A very honest and thought-provoking book that is superbly written. It wasn't what I was expecting but it's a book that I was still thinking about several hours after I'd finished it.

A unique mother daughter relationship told incredibly truthfully and intensely. I loved the way Leah intertwined the present and past in her writing.