Hiding Out audiobook

I loved this book. The fact that it was regarding someone who used to live in the DC area, and describing some of the places in downtown DC was amazing...even though her club hopping was about 8 years before mine.I loved the fact that she came out and then found out her father had an alternate lifestyle. This book was captivating and only took me two days to read. I loved it.

Hiding Out is a raw, emotional story full of family secrets. Although it is nonfiction, it reads like fiction and flows smoothly. I was amazed at the resilience of Tina Alexis Allen and her ability to overcome such great odds. I would love to see this book made into a movie!

** spoiler alert ** I don’t even know where to begin on my review of this book. Some parts of it were so unnecessarily graphic that I want to give it 3 stars, but considering I couldn’t put it down, I’ll bump my review to 4 stars. The phrase “Drugs, Deception, and Double Lives” doesn’t even begin to cover the hot mess that was Tina Allen’s childhood. I would even be bold enough to say that despite the lack of alliteration, “drugs” could be replaced with “abuse” or “pedophilia.” I think Allen’s relationship with her teacher when she was 12 years old was what really threw me off and was genuinely the most unexpected element of this memoir. To be honest I also could’ve gone without reading all of the graphic details of Allen giving oral sex to her girlfriend in a Georgetown restaurant. While I give Allen an A+ on her imagery, I don’t know why so much detail was included (particularly when recounting sexual encounters) unless it was just for the genuine shock value. That being said, a lot of this book felt true but exaggerated. I believe Allen’s stories but a lot of her experiences were so insane that they felt like fiction. One of the elements of this book that kept me hooked is that I am local to the DC area and Allen grew up there. There is also a chapter where Rehoboth Beach is discussed and visited and I am very familiar with that area as well. It was interesting to read about DC places I have visited (such as the University Club) and be able to vividly imagine the author and her family in the same setting. Overall I would recommend this book as an interesting/unique read but readers should be warned that some chapters are quite graphic and may feel too wacky to be 100% true.

I really enjoyed Hiding Out, but I feel really guilty for taking pleasure in the train wreck of this womans life. She has been through so much, and so much of it is just... you can't make this stuff up. More than once I caught myself thinking "it would have been better if..." or "nah, that isn't how they would have reacted" and had to remind myself that this isn't a well thought-out fiction novel or crazy spy movie. This is Miss Allen's LIFE! This really happened! I don't want to spoil the story, but it is truly remarkable that Miss Allen grew up to be a fairly well adjusted (at least, by the books account, I'm certainly not acquainted with her- although I would love to spend a day with her and just her more of her stories), successful adult. My sole reason for not giving this book 5 stars is her treatment of her mother. Okay. I get it. She's a big fat person. In almost every single scene including her mother, Miss Allen feels the need to mention the food she is eating and there are numerous mentions about her obesity that do not contribute anything to the story. It is apparent that Mrs. Worthington ate her feelings, and it is also apparent that her daughter detested it just as much as her husband did. (spoiler incoming) In the last scene with her mother, when Tina is washing her feet and snuggling her to belly, I actually had tears in my eyes. Her love for her dying mother felt so real, and her need to show her mother that love while she still could was beautiful. And then, food again. Completely ruined the scene for me. I won an advance copy of this book thru Goodreads Giveaways.

Hiding Out A Memoir of Drugs, Deception and Double Lives by Tina Alexis Allen is a true story. Usually, I don’t read Non-Fiction unless it is true crime, autobiography of someone I really admire or health and wellness. However, this really caught my eye when I saw it in the library. This story was something you would see in the movies. Not something you would think a little girl growing up into a woman would live through and be alright at the end of it all. The prologue explains that through all of this she made it out ok. This book is filled with lots of secrets, betrayal, sex, underage love affairs, drugs, alcohol, same sex relationships, father daughter bonding, revelations, bisexuality, Christianity, etc. The book starts off slow but then gets going in the middle of the book.

I could not put this book down. It is full of raw emotion, desperate need and some unexpected moments of humor. It was powerful and moving. So much naked honesty free of judgement. Well done!

An honest heartfelt account of a family full of secrets while trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy. I can relate. Thank you for sharing your pain and recovery.

Hiding Out was a work of art by a truly courageous woman and survivor. It was also an account of family relationships, addiction, religion, family/personal betrayal and abuse, as well as a coming out story. This was an emotional read for me. I'm not going to say I "enjoyed" Tina's heartache and sadness. What I am happy about though, is that she was able to find peace and joy after her moment of clarity during a trip to one of my favorite places, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I could go on and on here, but I won't; too personal. I will close with this, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

An audacious story, filled with raw emotion.

Talk about truth oh, stranger than fiction! The author straightforward way of reporting her experience is absolutely unnerving. Her ability to be objective and her voice as a neutral observeris both unnerving and utterly convincing. I believe her truth and I believe that it is accurate and it is nearly unbearably heartbreaking to know. Poignant and moving, funny and entertaining, crushing and enlightening. Don't miss this one! Kudos to the author for her courage and bravery, authenticity, clarity and transparency and enormous risk-taking!

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. I could not put it down and had to learn how Tina's story would "turn out." What bravery for speaking out and sharing her story.

Memoir, when done well, is a deeply emotional experience not only for the writer who bares her soul but for the reader who is invited to witness the pain, joy, struggles, and successes of a person we would otherwise never know in such a profound way. Tina Alexis Allen has told her story well. It's a story of her family's secrets and her own: an ultra-Catholic, privileged upbringing that encompassed a father who was a closeted gay and also brutally cruel; a mother who was a saint but also self-deceived; twelve siblings, some abusive, some enabling, some supportive. And at the heart of the story is Tina herself: baby of the family, lesbian, sexually active from a young age, and pulled into a web of deception with her father. Tina's voice of wisdom, honesty, acceptance, strength, and hope makes her story both moving and memorable. I read Hiding Out in one long stretch because it was so compelling.

As a gay man and an agnostic Catholic, I found the read fascinating. I love memoirs, because it relates what happens to "real people," unlike fiction. I related to some of the stories that she related about her partners in her late teens and early twenties, the drinking and the discomfort of living in a religious family while secretly being skeptical of religion and a desire to pursue a "liberated" gay lifestyle. Related to the characters and their situations. Liked the book so much, I looked the author up in YouTube to watch her interviews on the book and found them interesting. Very well written and enjoyable. I read it in two days.

Excellent exploration of family systemsI read this book as part of a therapist book club. It's a quick read that is enjoyable the whole book through. Ms. Allen writes beautifully from her young adult voice. Her father is easily personified and her mother evokes the need to be protective towards her. Strong emotions will be felt throughout as many touchy topics are explored.

This memoir was a bit more sexually explicit than I expected it to be but I've found the honesty very refreshing. It was quite shocking to me how she mentioned her childhood abuse and abuse through the ' teacher'... No honey , it was not a relationship ..... but I understand how she needed to tell herself that ..Her father and his explicit cheating adventures were just gross... He was married with 13 kids... Get a divorce ... I feel most sorry for her mother and her unfulfilled love life.