AUTHOR
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"It began the first time my father gave me a bath."
Andrea Leeb’s haunting memoir Such a Pretty Picture explores the long shadow cast by childhood abuse and the courage it takes to step into the light. With vivid storytelling and unflinching vulnerability, she invites readers into the fractured moments that shaped her—and the strength she found to rebuild.
Part literary memoir, part emotional reckoning, Such a Pretty Picture is both a survivor’s story and a guidepost for anyone seeking to heal from their past.
Critical Acclaim
“A moving memoir of trauma with an uplifting conclusion.”
“Such A Pretty Picture was raw and aching, but impossible to look away from. … This isn’t a book I’d recommend lightly—it’s emotionally intense and triggering. But it’s also one of the most honest, powerful memoirs I’ve ever read. Andrea Leeb isn’t asking for pity. She’s telling her story to shed light, to speak the truth, and to make someone else feel less alone. And that’s precisely why it matters.”
“It’s a story about survival—of trauma, betrayal, and, surprisingly, moments of love—rendered with a clarity that’s both poetic and emotionally searing.”
“With crystalline prose and a measured, evocative tone, Leeb guides the reader through her childhood in a home that, from the outside, appeared perfect—but behind closed doors, hid deep dysfunction.”
“Andrea Leeb’s Such a Pretty Picture is a devastating and intimate memoir that tells the story of a childhood marked by trauma, silence, and survival.”
“Such A Pretty Picture is a fierce act of reclamation, written with haunting grace. Brave, honest, and exquisitely written, this memoir is a necessary addition to the canon of survival literature. Leeb’s story will stay with readers long after the final page.”
“Resonant narrative of trauma, growth, and forgiveness.”
“Andrea Leeb’s memoir is punctuated by dark humor and irony, as seen through her youthful misinterpretations of her circumstances and her mother’s frantic attempts to portray a picture-perfect family despite their dysfunction. The author writes about family loyalty versus self-preservation as she and her sister navigate their father’s volatility and their mother’s enabling behavior differently. The setting, primarily revolving around their New York apartment and later Florida, amplifies feelings of isolation and foreboding, contrasting with the colorful recollections of childhood joy that Andrea desperately clings to.“
“With unwavering honesty and lyrical restraint, Leeb constructs a narrative that is as emotionally devastating as it is artistically accomplished. This memoir is not just a chronicle of survival—it is a study in how language, silence, and memory coalesce into a haunting portrait of a life shaped by secrets.”
“It takes power to tell this story. It takes bravery and strength and a machete—a way to chop through the tangled vines of trauma to forge a path ahead. Such a Pretty Picture is a powerful story that will break your heart and, hopefully, put it back together again.”
Meet Andrea
Her essays have been published in Isele Magazine, Litro Magazine, and Her Stry. Such a Pretty Picture is her debut memoir.
Andrea Leeb is a writer and advocate living in Venice Beach, California. Her work has been published in numerous literary journals, including Litro Magazine, the Potomac Review, Text Power Telling magazine, and HerStry. In 2025, she was a non-fiction finalist in the Tucson Festival of Books literary awards program. She has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, a JD from the Cardozo School of Law, and a BSN from Georgetown University. Previously, Andrea worked as both an attorney and as a registered nurse. She is a member of the Advisory Board of Directors for the UCLA Rape Treatment Center and a volunteer at the program’s Stuart House. She dedicates her time to advocating for survivors of sexual assault, mentoring young women from post-conflict and climate-challenged countries, and writing. Such a Pretty Picture: A Memoir is Andrea’s first full-length book.
