#MMBBR Review: The S Word: A Memoir About Secrets by Paolina Milana

In accordance with her Sicilian Catholic family’s unspoken code, Paolina Milana learned at an early age to keep her secrets locked away where no one could find them. Nobody outside the family needed to know about the voices her Mamma battled in her head; or about how Paolina forged her birth certificate at thirteen so she could get a job at The Donut Shop; or about the police officer twenty-six years her senior whose promise to her Papà to “keep an eye on her” quickly translated into something sinister. And perhaps that’s why no one saw it coming when—on the eve of her sweet sixteen, pushed to edge—Paolina attempted to take her own mother’s life. 

Raw and compelling, The S Word is the true story of a girl who nearly suffocates in the silence she was taught to value above all else—until she finally finds the strength to break free of the secrets binding her and save herself.

About the Author

For a long time, Paolina has told other people’s stories: first as a journalist; then as a PR pro for a nonprofit; then as a storyteller of students for a university; and most recently as a content marketer for the unsung heroes of small business. She has won awards for her fiction pieces and screenplays. The S-Word is her first full-length book.

A story of self discovery and bravery that follows a woman as she fights against what she was taught to forge the life she deserved to live!  Powerful and packed with emotion the S Word is a read I will not soon forget.  4 stars