Stray

Memoir of a Runaway

By: Tanya Marquardt

Narrated by: Tanya Marquardt

Brutal and beautiful, Stray is the true story of a girl who runs away and finds herself.

After growing up in a dysfunctional and emotionally abusive home, Tanya Marquardt runs away on her sixteenth birthday. Her departure is an act of rebellion and survival - whatever she is heading toward has to be better than what she is leaving behind.

Struggling with her inner demons, Tanya must learn to take care of herself during two chaotic years in the working-class mill town of Port Alberni, followed by the early-nineties underground goth scene in Vancouver, British Columbia. She finds a chosen family in her fellow misfits, and the bond they form is fierce and unflinching.

Told with raw honesty and strength, Stray reveals Tanya’s fight to embrace the vulnerable, beguiling parts of herself and heal the wounds of her past as she forges her own path to a new life.

©2018 Tanya Marquardt (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

I Wanted More

Title: Stray: Memoir of a Runaway
Author: Tanya Marquardt
Format: Audio
Narrator: Tanya Marquardt
Genre: Nonfiction, memoir
Standalone: yes
Part of a Series: no
POV: Tanya
Steam Level: Nothing sexy but some sexual content
4/5

I picked up Stray since it sounded interesting. And it was. I was engrossed by Tanya Marquardt's story with some current insights to past situations. However, I wanted a bit more - especially on how she reconnected with her mom and family or what happened to her friends. I felt like it ended abruptly and made me question if I should know the author's story. So I did a quick search and only found info on this book.

Opportunity for greater understanding

When a book brings me to a greater understanding of unfamiliar life paths and experiences, I am grateful for the expansion. When I find my impressions of others has been softened with compassion, I am humbled by the privilege. I thank Tanya Marquardt for the offer of her experiences. Add to that, she does a fine narration of her book in audible.

Reader Comments

This memoir is highly recommend to victims of a dysfunctional family. As a survivor I can say that reading this memoir helped me to feel not alone.

it was okay but not great

I found the book a little tedious and boring at times. however I did want to hear events thought the end, even though I knew new pretty much what it was.

Couldn't stop listening

So much of my younger self could relate to this girl's story. Thank you

Pretty Interesting...

This true story was pretty interesting and , I thought, tells the story of so many other children in our world who are trying their best to "make it" the best way they can with what support, little as it may be, that they are given but somehow rising above it all. I did understand and appreciated that the author narrated her own character, however, I did not enjoy her narration of some of the other characters - especially her mother's. This depiction actually took away from my enjoyment , as it sounded really artificial.

Courageous story to tell

Not what I expected, but interesting to say the least. Not something I would purchase, glad it was free.

Teenage couch hopper

I love memoirs but this one bored me. A rebellious teenage Goth girl who chain smokes, gets black out drunk and couch hops from friend to friend finding a place to sleep at night. That's pretty much the entire book. There wasn't much of a conclusion but there wasn't much of a story to begin with.
I didn't feel the Author was a runaway, more of a girl who just wanted to hang with friends all the time and get as drunk as humanly possible. If this book had an odor it would smell like stale cigarette smoke. body odor and day old booze. Not a fan.

Unengaging

Quite frankly, I can't stand the narrator's voice....but also, this story is uninteresting. Many people are raised this way and the author sounds like a whiner. Many kids have had it much worse.

Do Not Read

This book had nothing to do with the description. It was a self involved teenager who wanted to be an adult without getting a job, or doing any work. Leaves her house, lives with a friend and goes back home. Poor story flow. Self indulgent. Insulting to real runaways.