Review: ‘A Father’s Betrayal’

In the memoir 'A Father's Betrayal,” Gabriella Gillespie tells of life where she and her sisters lived in Wales with their father and mother until her mother 'went missing” and her father was sent to prison for her mother's murder.

At a young age, Gabriella and her sisters lived in a loving foster home and assumed that is where they would stay until they were grown. There they were loved and well cared for and treated like the couple's own children.

But after just four years, their father was released from prison and the girls were forced to return to live with him. What was supposed to be a holiday to their father's homeland in Yemen, turned into a nightmare as they were unprepared for the culture shock, and the fact that they were to be sold as child brides.

This book shares the horrors that Gabriella and her sisters faced trying to acclimate to a completely new way of life, meeting new family and living as wives when they should have still been attending school and dreaming of their weddings many, many years down the road.

Gabriella's story is not a happy one, and I often had to put it down as it was extremely depressing and tragic. Gabriella (she goes by a different name in the book) doesn't leave out many details when recounting the horrific abuse she received from family members and her husband. All the while I had to remind myself that she was around the same age as my children. I had to believe that if she had written this book that there was a way out of this horror for her and that hope kept me reading.

This book looks at a culture that is much different from ours. The descriptions of boys who are working in the fields all day as young as 6, young girls fetching water many miles away multiple times a day, and women cooking with meager conditions were eye-opening and humbling. I don't think I could rightfully complain about any housework after reading this book.

The writing at times was childish and elementary, but I could look beyond that knowing that the author obviously had very little education and maybe had a difficult time with translation. Beyond that, I believe she was extremely brave for telling her story knowing that it could be dangerous for her and her family.

I was a little unsatisfied with the ending, but can appreciate that she may have had to keep some things private for her safety.

Overall, this was a story that kept me interested, despite the challenge in reading about the horrible abuse. The relationships that Gabriella made along her journey with her sisters from Wales as well as those she met once arriving in Yemen were a lifeline for her. Even with the evil around her, there were people who loved her and that allowed her to continue to hope for a brighter future for herself and her children. I certainly pray that she has found happiness.