Review of Conditional Love
Posted: 23 Mar 2025, 08:52
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Conditional Love" by Stacey Berger.]
Do you struggle with your relationships with immediate and extended family members? Have you experienced the tension of wanting to support and be present to family while maintaining your sanity? Have you ever gone with the status quo to keep the peace rather than speaking up for yourself? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should read the memoir Conditional Love by Stacey Berger. This book chronicles Stacey’s life growing up in an enmeshed family and the ways that her family life changed after the passing of her aunt and uncle in a deadly plane crash.
Stacey grew up in what she considered to be a “perfect” family. She is the oldest of 3 girls in a Jewish family, and growing up, she never wanted for anything. Her father owned his own landscaping business and had a larger-than-life personality that left an impression on everyone he encountered. Stacey’s mother helped run the family business, and it was very successful. She has many happy memories of going out to eat at fancy restaurants, going on big family vacations, and attending professional sports games as her dad held season tickets for the Philadelphia Eagles football team and the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. In high school Stacey began to realize that her family was somewhat different than others, as her family did everything together and her parents were quite strict about family time not being interrupted for any reason. As she grew up, Stacey also experienced her father’s temper on occasion, but she did not fully recognize how controlling her parents were.
Stacey began to question her image of her “perfect” family after her aunt and uncle tragically passed away in a plane crash when Stacey was in her early 20s. Her parents took in her 3 orphaned cousins, and tensions rose between her parents and her cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents. Pick up a copy of this memoir if you’re interested in learning more about Stacey’s life and how her perceptions changed as she grew up.
Overall, I enjoyed this memoir and found it to be a very engaging story. My heart went out to Stacey and her cousins for all that they experienced. The biggest complaint that I have about this book is that there were a number of typos and grammar errors that detracted from the reading experience. Due to the typos, I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Another round of editing could really improve this story. This story also contained some profanity, but it was not excessive and did not disrupt the reading experience.
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Conditional Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Do you struggle with your relationships with immediate and extended family members? Have you experienced the tension of wanting to support and be present to family while maintaining your sanity? Have you ever gone with the status quo to keep the peace rather than speaking up for yourself? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should read the memoir Conditional Love by Stacey Berger. This book chronicles Stacey’s life growing up in an enmeshed family and the ways that her family life changed after the passing of her aunt and uncle in a deadly plane crash.
Stacey grew up in what she considered to be a “perfect” family. She is the oldest of 3 girls in a Jewish family, and growing up, she never wanted for anything. Her father owned his own landscaping business and had a larger-than-life personality that left an impression on everyone he encountered. Stacey’s mother helped run the family business, and it was very successful. She has many happy memories of going out to eat at fancy restaurants, going on big family vacations, and attending professional sports games as her dad held season tickets for the Philadelphia Eagles football team and the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. In high school Stacey began to realize that her family was somewhat different than others, as her family did everything together and her parents were quite strict about family time not being interrupted for any reason. As she grew up, Stacey also experienced her father’s temper on occasion, but she did not fully recognize how controlling her parents were.
Stacey began to question her image of her “perfect” family after her aunt and uncle tragically passed away in a plane crash when Stacey was in her early 20s. Her parents took in her 3 orphaned cousins, and tensions rose between her parents and her cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents. Pick up a copy of this memoir if you’re interested in learning more about Stacey’s life and how her perceptions changed as she grew up.
Overall, I enjoyed this memoir and found it to be a very engaging story. My heart went out to Stacey and her cousins for all that they experienced. The biggest complaint that I have about this book is that there were a number of typos and grammar errors that detracted from the reading experience. Due to the typos, I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Another round of editing could really improve this story. This story also contained some profanity, but it was not excessive and did not disrupt the reading experience.
******
Conditional Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon