Ugly: My Memoir

The Australian bestseller

By: Robert Hoge

Narrated by: Robert Hoge

Robert Hoge was born with a giant tumour on his forehead, severely distorted facial features and legs that were twisted and useless. His mother refused to look at her son, let alone bring him home. But home he went, to a life that, against the odds, was filled with joy, optimism and boyhood naughtiness.

Home for the Hoges was a bayside suburb of Brisbane. Robert's parents, Mary and Vince, knew that his life would be difficult, but they were determined to give him a typical Australian childhood. So along with the regular, gruelling and often dangerous operations that made medical history and gradually improved Robert's life, there were bad haircuts, visits to the local pool, school camps and dreams of summer sports.

UGLY is Robert's account of that life, from the time of his birth to the arrival of his own daughter. It is a story of how the love and support of his family helped him to overcome incredible hardships. It is also the story of an extraordinary person living an ordinary life, which is perhaps his greatest achievement of all.

Good

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ugly?

When the author says he's done.

Any additional comments?

I was confused and elated. I thought the book was going to be a journey in healing. I came to the conclusion that there was so much normalcy in the way he was raised (Bravo to his entire family-it takes a village) and how he dealt with life's ugliness toward himself that there really was no story about ugly that I could pick out. It was just a memoir. An interesting memoir.

Baby

What I liked about is was that a baby was born
What I dislike about it was mom dies