"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a novel about the power of family to harm--and to heal. Within the walls of a tasteful, perfectly kept house in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, young Zane Bigelow feels like a prisoner of war. Strangers--and even Zane's own aunt across the lake--see his parents as a successful surgeon and his stylish wife, making appearances at their children's ballet recitals and baseball games. Zane and his...

When her grandfather suffers a suspicious, fatal heart attack at her wedding, Violet can barely conceal her joy. For herself, and for the sake of other victims like her, Violet is reclaiming the power stolen from her as a child. Predator by predator, she’s coming for them. It’s intoxicating. It’s liberating. But the secrets she now keeps, and the lies she must tell, come with a price.

Describes the author's harrowing upbringing by fanatic parents, who raised her in isolation through traumatic disciplinary exercises designed to "eliminate weakness," and recounts how she eventually escaped with the help of an outsider.

"Have you ever wondered 'Why did I do that?' or 'Why can't I just control my behavior?' Others may judge our reactions and think, 'What's wrong with that person?' When questioning our emotions, it's easy to place the blame on ourselves, holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It's time we started asking a different question. Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and ... brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry...