Review The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom

The House of My Mother: In this memoir, author Shari Franke tells a real-life story of slavery that depicts the unfiltered truth behind the “8 Passengers” family channel. Shari, the eldest daughter, raises the curtain on writing about the brutal and oppressive rule of her mother Ruby Franke, a public figure of the ‘perfect’ ‘Christian’ mother of four and stay-at-home mother.

Background

Ruby Franke became popular through her YouTube channel 8 Passengers which she deemed her family, including the six children. It gained millions of viewers through the social channel, an image of a clean, Mormon family happily religious. However, in Shari’s own words in her memoir, the façade concealed a lifetime of physical and psychological abuse by Ruby which seemed to be worse when she worked with business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt.

Content Overview

Shari goes on to explain in detail the kind of abuse that she and her siblings suffered in her memoir. She talks of cases of physical Corporal punishment, HungryMA, bound with duct tape. The problem of complicated business interaction increased the abuse when Jodi Hildebrandt who was Ruby’s counsellor turned into a business partner, and Shari implied that there was more than a professional relationship between the two ladies. From this combination emerged even more severe and destructive practices’ within the horizon of the household.

Although Shari’s account might seem in some ways like a mere description of past abuse and subsequent escape, this paper seeks to show that it is also a story of survivors and their journey to recovery. Reporting the protagonist’s thoughts and actions, the author focuses on her Indigenous decision to cut off ties with the family, on education, and on fighting child exploitation in family vlogging. Her case raises some ethical concerns about making money out of family experience and burdening the well-being of little kids.

Critical Reception

After its launch, the film The House of My Mother has received a lot of attention and admiration for telling an honest and brave story. Audience members have praised how detailed and articulate Shari is in describing her experiences saying they give the audience a close look at the complications that come with being raised in a certain manner. It has been called the shocking unadulterated truth about what had been going on behind the scenes of the fast-growing YouTube channel.

Conclusion

The House of My Mother is all about real life, pain, and suffering shrouded by a picture-perfect image of a happy family. So, Shari Franke’s story is an act of bravery that both presents her story of trauma and is part of her healing process. It remains a caution every parent with kids involved in a family vlog should heed, as well as the need to ensure children’s welfare in this digital world.

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