Snag The Places Left Unfilled Published By M.C. Cauley Distributed As Volume

sexual abuse, child abuse,

"My dressed up corpse and this secret those were the two things I knew for certain I'd take to my grave.
"

Born to a single mother who would prefer she didnt exist, Morgan has spent much of her young life in pursuit of one thing a father.
But when her close friendship with an older neighbor begins to attract suspicion, and connecting with her birth father isnt at all how she imagined it would be, Morgans longheld hope begins to dwindle.
That is, until, at the age of fourteen, Morgan meets Bill her fortyfiveyearold martial arts instructor.

At first a teacher and father figure who Morgan can confide in, Bill soon reveals that his interest in her isnt entirely paternal.
Despite her initial fear, Morgan craves the attention Bill is more than willing to lavish upon her, resulting in a severalmonthslong affair that will alter the course of both of their lives.


The Places Left Unfilled is a memoir by M, C. Cauleys about the unfathomable experiences during her childhood,
So, firstly given the the nature of the book and since it covers a sensitive topic of a real life situation it was very difficult to read and I always applaud an author who is able to share their stories.

From the very beginning we feel the author's pain as the author been treated badly by her own mother and that's what initially stems her interest in finding out who her father is.

This is a memoir, so the author has written down whatever happens from memory, diary entries etc so while I'm not going to say much on the content except that the author did a good job, the writing does require a little bit of tweaking.

This book is left "openended" because the author is still dealing with the scars of these events when the book ends.

It is a really sad book and with whatever happens to her as a child you feel disgusted that someone who's supposed to play a better part in her life would do this to her and because we get to view her thoughts on what happened, as an outsider looking in I can only comment on what I know but the author has experienced it and there may still be a few things that haven't been shared this is just an assumption.

I would recommend you reading this book HOWEVER please be aware of the content and do not take the TWs lightly because there are things I wish I didn't read, just because my heart couldn't handle it.


Rated./
Melina L. Well I dont have words to describe, how Im feeling after reading this memoir, Author as a teen has suffered sexual abuse from her trainer at the age of, In fact she wasnt sad of what she has suffered, She fell in love with him, She considered him as father,friend and lover, Children who dont receive love of their parents, look for it outside, That love Morgan author received from bill, Even her mother never understood her feelings which led Morgan to be inclined towards bill, She has suffered emotionally more than physically, I have developed a soft corner towards her, I want to meet her and hug her, All I want to say is you are a strong girl and woman, This was a powerful memoir that shows the true bond that sexual abuse victims can have with their abusers.
Harrowing.
That is all there is to say,
If you do want a little more, there will be some small spoilers:
While there are many stories out there about abuse and neglected and used children, this autobiography is different in that it portrays grooming in a way people will truly understand the psychological meaning of it.

It is a term regularly used when describing paedophilia, but rarely does the true manipulation come through the way Morgan Cauley portrays it in The Places Left Unfilled.

Despite having heard and read it more times than I care to think about, I am sad to say it took me longer than it should have to understand the true nature of what I was reading about.
And if it is so hard to distinguish for an adult, how must it feel for a teenager desperately looking for a friend and father figure in her life The Places Left Unfilled makes it clear just how tricky it can be to differentiate feelings and intentions.
Nothing is as simple as it seems, For the longest time, Morgan doesnt feel violated, but heartbroken, And it takes this book and her story to truly understand why, A very open and honest insight into the crime of grooming children for abuse, The author was frank in her descriptions of her own feelings, both as she perceived them at the time and how she reflected on them later.
This is not an easy book to read but it is an important one as grooming is so prevalent and so easy for some to dismiss as a lesser evil.
I was given a free copy of the book by the author in exchange for a review through Voracious Readers Only

How are you supposed to know that youre being sexually abused when your frame of reference for normal and appropriate relationships is nonexistent What if the person abusing you was also the only person in your that truly cared about you in your short life These are the questions Cauley brings up in this memoir.


Since the age of eleven, “Morgan” authors pseudonym, has had to deal with an absent father and a neglectful mother who verbally and physically abuses her for the slightest infractions.
When she does finally meet him, she soon finds out that her dad is more interested in partying with his fiancée than having a relationship with her.
Her attempts to grow closer to her overly affectionate married male neighbour are also thwarted by her mom.
At age thirteen, she meets and develops a crush on her taekwando instructor “Bill”, a man who gives her all the care and supporting shes been missing from her affectionstarved life.
However, Bills affection comes at a price and he quickly grooms her into satisfying his sexual needs.
The consequences of this relationship and its shocking aftermath have left a now adult Morgan with deep emotional scars.


As though she has pulled her memories straight from her mind as well her diary entries, the author has decided to write her memoir entirely from the perspective of her adolescent self, saving her adult reflections for the end of the book.
She spares no detail in describing the the nature of her perverse relationship with Bill, like when she tells of him watching her playing with his similarlyages kids on the dojang mats hours after he has her perform

a sexual act for him for the first time in disturbing contrast.
Morgan is also an adolescent of the latesearlys, a time that I personally recall where kids were frequently warned of “stranger danger”, but the unfortunate fact that most abused kids are preyed upon by people they already know and trust was rarely discussed in comparison.
Much of the storys tragedy comes from simply how none of the adults in Morgans life are involved enough to suspect her beloved teacher of doing anything wrong.
Morgans story also highlights the importance of listening to abuse victims instead of just telling them how they should and shouldnt feel.
A harrowing read for all the right reasons, Cauleys brutally honest account is a wellwritten one that addresses important points regarding the nature of child sexual abuse.

Born to a single mother who would prefer she didnt exist, Morgan has spent much of her young life in pursuit of one thing a father.
That is, until, at the age of fourteen, Morgan meets Bill her fortyfiveyearold martial arts instructor.


At first a teacher and father figure who Morgan can confide in, Bill soon reveals that his interest in her isnt entirely paternal.
Despite her initial fear, Morgan craves the attention Bill is more than willing to lavish upon her, resulting in a severalmonthslong affair that will alter the course of both of their lives.

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This is one of those books that drenched me in tears, pain, greif and I just feel so so attached with the story, I feel so closer to Morgan even after completing the book.
This is a highly moving tale, parents are the most important part of one's life and we often ignore how privileged we are to have them because few people just don't have them, especially when they need them and even if they have, they seem unwanted and knowing that we are unwanted to our parents is the worst thing to know and it feels like our existence is not valid and Morgan is going through same, love is all she need, respect and care is all she long for and this is one of those books that is going to be most close and special to my heart.

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It's extremely worthy, bold, strong and I think even parents should read it, it's a perfect book which presents a sensitive subject so well.
This book has my heart, I will highly recommend it to everyone, it might be triggering for few readers, Yet, thanks to the author for writing it,
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Rating:.Wow, what an interesting but sad story, I think many teenage girls can relate to Morgan here in some ways, which makes it all the harder to read.
What if that teacher we fancied reciprocated those feelings I love how she has dealt with the events in her life and been truly honest about her feelings.
A truly great read about an amazing women! Courageous memoirist
confronts demons,
Her brilliant writing
has transformative power
to help victims of trauma and abuse.
This is not going to be for everyone as there are so many possible triggers in it as the author gives a candid description of life as a teenager being abused.
Having no safe place to fall the author describes how a teenager looks for and accepts what they perceive as love wherever they can find it.
This is a survivors journey,

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I review a lot of books, but never have a memoir so bare with me, I will start out by saying a received this book as an ARC in return for an honest review.
I felt so many different emotions while reading this book, I felt so bad for Morgan throughout the book, Her mom does not sound like she was motherly at all, which made me really sad because moms are supposed to always be there for their children and love them no matter what.
I didnt think highly of really anyone in her life, Morgan seemed to be looking for someone to love and someone to love her, then you hear about her abuse.
Bill was so manipulative, it made me so angry! Morgan is truly a survivor, .