Surviving Intimate Terrorism

By: Hedda Nussbaum

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Hedda Nussbaum, battered and bruised after years of domestic torture by her live-in partner, Joel Steinberg, was abruptly thrown into the public spotlight in November 1987 after Steinberg assaulted and killed their daughter, Lisa. This book tells the painful story of Hedda’s 12 years with Steinberg, how she went from quiet book editor to notorious battered woman blamed for her daughter’s death because she didn’t “get out” soon enough. But, as the title suggests, Hedda not only survived the double abuse, but grew strong in the process and went on to become an advocate for other battered women - writing and speaking, teaching women how to stay out of and/or to survive intimate terrorism. In her Prologue, Ms. Nussbaum states the book’s primary purpose: “I pray that my story be an inspiration to women to see the truth before it’s too late and to use their inner strength to save their own lives and those of their children. If this book saves just one child or one mother, I will be content. If it saves even more, I will be fulfilled.” Ms. Nussbaum is a former senior editor at Random House and the author of the children’s books Plants Do Amazing Things and Animals Build Amazing Homes.

The story is overall, riveting and relatable

The virtual voice is terrible. Words mispronounced, it keeps saying "dot" at the end of several sentences and separation of words like coercion. Voice pronounces it as "C oercion". This makes it really hard to follow the story when you have to figure out what its trying to say. The voice takes away from the story with those mentioned and the lack of emotional reading. Its monotone and made the story boring.

Worst virtual voice I’ve encountered

This is one harrowing story about domestic abuse. Some of the details will most likely take your breath away. I had to pause the story at several points and fast forward just so I could get through to the end. But I must say that the virtual voice almost made this Impossible to listen to as every time there is a comma the voice said “dot” and it misspoke so many common words. Virtual voice also scrambled some of the sentences putting the words in the middle at the beginning. It takes a lot of patience to get through it for that reason as well.

Lord, I can’t stand artificial voice reading!

The book is okay, ad far as content. It is infuriating how Hedda justifies the fact that she did nothing while Lisa died naked on the floor for hours - many hours. Hedda goes on endlessly about how good of a mother she was to both children, when it was documented that the home was filthy and unlit and both children were very dirty and apparently neglected for years, likely century were “adopted” illegally.

Above all though if the artificial voice narration. It completely ruins the book, and I know I won’t ever buy another audiobook that isn’t read by a person.