Dead Inside

Product Information

I also wrote a review for this book in 2012 when it was self published as "Straightling." I want to include it in this review (I hope thats ok). Here is what I wrote then: Be sure to read it with an open mind- willing to accept that there are NO exaggerations in this book. Then, when you're finished, read the epilogue and try to not have your stomach turn in knots for the thousands who, like Etler and myself, were actually there and are still here.

they proceed to hang out quite a lot. the mc is obviously very disgruntled and grossed out by the fact that he’s actually relating to another human being and to his absolute horror, he actually starts to like her, in his own sociopathic way. The book examines the idea of connecting with something greater than oneself through religious symbolism, such as prayer and meditation. What happened was enough to drive many people beyond the limits of what they were capable of living with and now they are no longer with us. Read it for them, but read it for yourself too. Hmm...what to say about Chandler Morrison’s DEAD INSIDE? Well, the writing is phenomenal. Top notch, compulsive storytelling, character building, and vivid imagery. Morrison is an untouchable genius writing about a taboo subject, gore, and deplorable characters. There’s imagery that is way over the line and that I can never “unsee” no matter how hard I try. We follow two people that find each other despite their gross idiosyncrasies - so at the heart of it, it’s a love story. I obviously spoke too soon about being desensitized. Jesus Christ! I’m officially disturbed so kudos to you, sir.Consider this your goddamn trigger warning.This story is short being a novella and totally entertaining. We follow an unnamed narrator as he goes about explaining and indulging in his unconventional proclivities and then he meets a girl...thus the story begins, but rest assured, this is unlike any love story you've ever come across. This is a nightmare made tangible both to the protagonist and the reader. This book will stay with readers long after they finish it; a true testament to its power and influence in providing comfort in times of darkness.

Struggling emotions, mental health, and an overall sense of inner turmoil are pervasive themes throughout the novel.Cannibalism and Necrophilia. Can't say i have ever read a book with the both in it. I've read books with cannibalism but I can't remember one with Necrophilia (and i'm fairly certain I 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 remember that). Now I'm a woman of 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 kinks but dead people. . . . Well that's where i draw the line. For some reason they don't do it for me. For Sex or Dinner. Go figure. 𝐍𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐠 𝐅𝐥𝐲. 𝐈 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨... Ok I’m feeling better because the descriptive narrative is getting hard to stomach. Kudos to the writer, this is some creative atrocities that easily mimic that train crash you can’t look away from. The Dead Inside is an emotional, bleak read- and a very important one at that. Not only is the memoir insightful about one particular kind of 'treatment' program that was tested on youth, but it is also read that stirs thoughts regarding opportunity (and limits to) for forgotten or hidden youth; parental abuse; as well the dangers inherent in labeling teens as 'bad' kids. Many intense subjects are openly approached in this title: sexual abuse, verbal abuse, psychological and physical trauma for a start. Etler does not broach any subject matter in a benevolent, timid fashion- and The Dead Inside makes all the more impact for it. Etler's memoir is one read that I feel needs to be experienced for the full impact; I fear that I cannot do justice to aptly describing or condensing the dark and compelling nature of this memoir.

When I found out that I was going outward bound, I thought it was a death sentence. I truly believed my parents were sending me off to get eaten by a bear or fall off a cliff. Or possibly starve. I begged. I pleaded. I cried. In desperate hope that my parents would change their minds and take me home. They didn't.i’ve never been any kind of athlete or anything, but am i seriously the only person who realizes that infants are the perfect punting shape? if we replaced footballs with babies, i would have been far more successful in high school gym class.” this man…💀 To be honest, I do not know how I’d be reviewing this one because it is a memoir. I cannot judge the characters, plot or setting. Those aspects were not invented or carefully weaved and structured in the mind of the storyteller to come up with a great plot and narrative to tell. What makes this book so horrifyingly gripping is that it is real. A true story. Starting out in the 1980s, 13-year-old Cyndy had casually tried marijuana and alcohol as a way to cope with her disgusting step-father and her turn-the-other-cheek mother. While Cyndy's friends were more into drugs and alcohol, she preferred their company and the loyalty she received when she made the choice to run away from her destructive home life. Unwilling to admit what was really going on, her parents told Cyndy that she was being sent to boarding school and dump her off to Straight, Inc - a place that 'fixes' troubled teens by making them admit to things they never did, brainwashing them, treating them like sub-humans, and shaming them for sport. Disclaimer: A free copy of this book was received through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every trigger-warning is employed here. I won't include a list of them because (spoilers) but also because I can just say that if you think of a trigger, it's present in this book. ALL OF THEM. As I read the harrowing true story of Cyndy Etler's time in the Straight Inc. program, I felt as I had when I read Garrard Conley's brilliant memoir Boy Erased: floored, aghast, enraged. A memoir of Cyndy Etler's time in the "rehabilitation" centre for "wayward" and "druggy" youths, The Dead Inside is an incredibly detailed, eye-opening, disturbing read that brings to light a very troubling so-called recovery program that existing only decades ago in North America (...and one that perhaps not many know about). These accounts are memories of a real, living person. This story happened in real life, specifically to this person named Cyndy.

Overview of the Novel

What do all depressed white girls, emo necrophiliacs, and baby-eating cannibals have in common? They read Bukowski. Through its exploration of mental health issues, it brings attention to how we can find strength within ourselves instead of relying solely on external sources for comfort or relief. Exploration of Human Emotion Besides that, as a metalhead, I did enjoy the Cannibal Corpse (fitting) reference as I love that death metal band. Morrison’s writing style is pretty good and honestly, this book will take you into the mind of a psychopath, a sociopath, basically someone that would have their own documentary that would be even crazier and creepier than anything you’ll see about Jeffrey Dahmer.