“I was scared because I knew the title was really negative,” McDaniel says. “You’re either going to say, ‘Wow, I’ve got to get this book’ or ‘I never will read this.’ But I figured if you’re buying this book, you really want to see what this is about.”
The memoir isn’t built around a traumatic childhood. Rather, the Carmichael resident exposes family secrets and discusses the impact of having two narcissistic parents, one who’s a predator. But it’s not a sob story. It’s a well-told tale of how truth can set you free.
McDaniel shares toxic details about growing up in New York and New Jersey. When her older cousin moves in with the family, horrors ensue that McDaniel wasn’t aware of until later in life. But those revelations clarify why she found herself entering therapy in her 30s and talking more about her parents than anyone else.
“I pretty much went through my entire life (feeling bad about myself),” McDaniel says. “It even affected how I felt about myself in college and as a media relations professional. But when I would get depressed about my father, I would focus on the good things: You just scored ‘The Today Show’ for a client or an article in the L.A. Times for a client.”
The book received positive feedback when published in 2024. The audiobook arrived in July and the paperback came out in August. McDaniel notes the book ranks in Amazon’s top 800 for biographies and memoirs, out of 32 million books and hundreds of thousands of memoirs.
“When the book turned a year old, she said go for it—tell everybody it’s your book. The truth will set you free,” McDaniel says. “She even came to my very first reading in L.A., which felt amazing.”
McDaniel sees the book’s success as a testament to what can happen when you’re honest about who you are and where you come from. As she makes the circuit of online book influencer interviews, in-person readings and book club appearances, she says, “It’s surreal to see women sitting around a table with my book in their hands.”
For information, visit miamcdanielmemoir.com and @miamcdanielmemoir on Instagram.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
