Playing Dead: A Memoir of Terror and Survival

PLAYING DEAD                                       MONIQUE FAISON ROSS

Monique, the daughter of San Diego Charger’s football great Earl Faison, married her high school sweetheart soon after she discovered she was pregnant with his child. Her relationship with Chris was shaky from the start, but turned tumultuous as he became verbally and physically abusive. When she could no longer put up with the abuse, she left him with their children. That was when the stalking and genuine threats began. Nothing stopped him—not protection injunctions, police warnings, or even arrests. One fateful Monday morning, Chris kidnapped Monique in front of her children and drove off on a nightmarish car ride that involved car crashes and rape. He mercilessly beat her on the head with a shovel and abandoned her brutalized body in the woods in the rain. He left, presuming she was dead…but was she?

PAT'S REVIEW

A true-crime story that can be heard and told many times but unfortunately is not told until the female has passed away, (killed). Here you have a true story of a woman going through a horrifying experience. The story can be difficult to read at times for many reasons. You find yourself drawn to this story once you begin because you want to find out what happens. Monique marries her high school sweetheart who becomes a monster. It starts with verbal abuse then turns into physical. Everything escalates to the point where she tries to leave, she gets the appropriate paperwork that you are legally required to get and yet she is still kidnapped by him, raped over and over, beat to the point where she pretended to be dead. Which actually saved her. She is a true survivor, a warrior in the true spirit of the word. No matter what she did legally he continued to come after her talk about premeditation. There is no I mean tolerance for a person like him yet there are many others walking around. This will be difficult to read once again though I think needs to be. Though scary and very much true I just wish women and children didn’t have to go through this and could be protected better. Though I think that this is a book that needs to be read, just be aware that it may take you some time to get through it. Remember that everything that happened is true and that a man who said he loved someone, married her became this monster. There are no words to describe how Monique is a true survivor and is so very lucky to be alive today, I just wish that there were ways to protect more women and families out there that this is happening to. A truly good book. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com