Ariel Leve Livres

Ariel Leve grew up in Manhattan with an eccentric mother she describes as “a poet, an artist, a self-appointed troublemaker and attention seeker.” Leve learned to become her own parent, taking care of herself and her mother’s needs. There would be uncontrolled, impulsive rages followed with denial, disavowed responsibility, and then extreme outpourings of affection. How does a child learn to feel safe in this topsyturvy world of conditional love?Leve captures the chaos and lasting impact of a child’s life under siege and explores how the coping mechanisms she developed to survive later incapacitated her as an adult. There were material comforts, but no emotional safety, except for summer visits to her father’s home in South East Asia-an escape that was terminated after he attempted to gain custody. Following the death of a loving caretaker, a succession of replacements raised Leve—relationships which resulted in intense attachment and loss. It was not until decades later, when Leve moved to other side of the world, that she could begin to emancipate herself from the past. In a relationship with a man who has children, caring for them yields a clarity of what was missing.In telling her haunting story, Leve seeks to understand the effects of chronic psychological maltreatment on a child’s developing brain, and to discover how to build a life for herself that she never dreamed possible: An unabbreviated life.

Set against the backdrop of a pivotal year marked by the thawing Cold War and the acceleration of the space race, this book explores the cultural upheaval of the 1960s. It highlights the rise of feminism, civil rights movements, and the profound impact of President Kennedy's assassination. The emergence of influential figures like the Beatles and Bob Dylan symbolizes a youth-driven revolution that transformed societal norms and established young people as a significant commercial and cultural force.

A beautiful, startling, and candid memoir about growing up without boundaries, in which Ariel Leve recalls her turbulent childhood as the only child of an unstable poet mother and a largely absent father. She explores the consequences of a psychologically harrowing upbringing as she seeks refuge from the past and recovers what was lost. Growing up in Manhattan, Leve describes her eccentric mother as “a poet, an artist, a self-appointed troublemaker and attention seeker.” She learned to parent herself, navigating her mother’s uncontrolled rages followed by denial and bursts of affection. In this topsy-turvy world of conditional love, Leve captures the chaos and lasting impact of her childhood, revealing how her coping mechanisms later incapacitated her as an adult. Material comforts were present, but emotional safety was scarce, except during summer visits to her father’s home in Southeast Asia—an escape that ended when he attempted to gain custody. Following the death of a loving caretaker, a series of replacements raised Leve, leading to intense attachment and loss. Decades later, after moving across the world, she began to emancipate herself from her past. In a relationship with a man who has children, caring for them brings clarity about what was missing in her life. Through her haunting story, Leve seeks to understand the effects of chronic psychological maltreatment on a child's developing brain and to build an unabbrevia

Hypochondriac, neurotic, and a habitual worrier, Ariel Leve has always looked on the blighted side of life. She counts it a good day if she manages to get out of bed. If someone should ask: what's the worst that can happen? She has a ready-made list and lives in permanent fear of what's to come.