Press

Publishers Weekly
"Sontag’s is a brave account, not only of what it’s like to take the brunt of an abusive parent’s wrath, but of what it means to have the courage to leave."

Los Angeles Times
"Sontag’s lean writing captures the tension -- the feeling of family as prison. Each time an outside observer recognizes her father’s manipulative cruelty, the reader feels a little surge of hope. Get out of there, Rachel! Get out!"

San Francisco Chronicle
"As Rachel Sontag makes clear in her searing memoir, "House Rules," emotional abuse can be as devastating, as cruel, as the most severe physical and sexual maltreatment….What is remarkable and inspiring is that Sontag emerged from the situation a stronger person."

Phillip Lopate
"As riveting, passionate and powerful a memoir as any I have read in recent years, it is also noteworthy for the balance and scrupulous self-scrutiny the writer brings to her younger self. The result--harrowing as the story may be--is a literary delight."

Library Journal
"…somehow, Sontag rises above the predictable in this gripping, quirky, unusual look back at a childhood that would have ruined adulthood for most people. Sontag’s voice remains clear, authentic, and humorous throughout."

Gotham
"[Sontag’s] story shows just how resilient the human spirit can be."
Blogcritics
“As the author tells her story the levels of grief comes through loud and clear and the reader will be aware when Sontag finally reaches acceptance. ‘I know this subject matter is personal, I just didn't know how to live without sharing it.’ That is my favorite line from the story, I think pain has less power when it's shared and the author bravely bares her soul to anyone who reads this book. It's a raw look at a life that contains a truth that will resonate within readers who can relate to this story.”

Dani Shapiro, author of Black and White
"In this brave, hard-won, and gorgeously written memoir, Rachel Sontag lays out the story of her family in prose as tautly strung and delicate as a high-wire. . . . A remarkable book."

Alicia Erian, author of TOWELHEAD
"Sontag recollects in vivid detail what it is to die a slow emotional death then somehow manage to resuscitate herself.