Informative, Suspenseful, Raw, Moving!
Deceit is a book about true events that occurred in the author’s life. Vernon Baumrind is a successful businessman, loyal husband, and loving father. He loves his wife but has recently been feeling increasingly rejected by her. He is unable to understand why until he realizes that his wife might be having an affair with her gynecologist. How will he find out if this is true? How can he prove it? Whom can he trust? These questions are answered in this fascinating and harrowing chronicle.
This story takes place in the late-1970s before cellphones, computers, and other advanced technology were commonplace. The main characters involve the author, his wife, and her gynecologist. His children are also very important to the story, as they are the driving force for the decisions he has to make after finding out the truth.
The book reads almost like a movie script. There is suspense, sexual tension, innocent victims, and a villain who seems to be able to get away with evil. The author does a superb job of conveying his feelings of sorrow, anger, heartbreak, and hope. I found myself feeling incredibly empathetic to the author and his children. I even started rooting for him as he went on a challenging journey of devastating discoveries and difficult decision-making. What I was most moved by was the author’s selfless decision to choose what is best for his children, despite the grave betrayals he suffers from his wife and her gynecologist. His ability to maintain a clear head amidst chaos, to push ahead with hope despite obstacles thrown in his path, and to repeatedly avoid using his children to his advantage, is very rare and almost supernatural.
This book can be a very useful and informational tool for almost any adult. Whether male or female, single or married, childless or with multiple children, the reader can learn how infidelity, addiction, and choices can affect an individual and their family. The author discusses many issues with transparency and doesn’t sugarcoat the issues he faces. He also presents the events in an organized manner that makes it easy for the reader to understand his predicament. This book also exposes the reader to various sectors of society that they might not have been exposed to or been involved in such as medical practice, legal proceedings, counseling, and detective work. I think this book would also greatly encourage any person who finds themselves in similar circumstances as the author.
I would not recommend this book for anyone under 18, because several passages contain explicit sexual language. These passages are necessary for the story and are not gratuitous. Those who have been sexually abused or have a history of sexual addiction should use caution in reading this book, as these passages might be a trigger.
I would rate this book 5/5. This book has had excellent editing as I could not find any errors.