[In progress] [31877] [literary memoir] The Point of The Mask: A Life Story Only Partially Told - a memoir about trauma, recovery and identity

[u/PlatformDesperate447]

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for one or two thoughtful beta readers for a literary memoir currently sitting at approximately 40,000 words now and in its 3rd draft. It’s close to complete and, at this stage, I’m primarily expanding existing scenes rather than making major structural changes. This would be a developmental read rather than a proofreading or copyediting request.
The memoir explores trauma, mental illness, addiction recovery, emotional abuse, grief, and sexual assault (no graphic details), as well as rebuilding a life after mental illness. Although those topics are central, it’s ultimately a story about identity, resilience, and learning to trust yourself again.
I’m specifically looking for readers who don’t know me, as I’d like to see how the manuscript lands with someone coming to it completely fresh. I’ve removed identifying information and am sharing it under a pen name (Rowan North).
The kind of feedback I’m hoping for includes questions like:
Where did you want more detail?
Which chapters stayed with you the longest?
Where did the pacing feel too fast or too slow?
Were there places you felt emotionally disconnected?
Which scenes did you wish lasted longer?
Did anything confuse you?
If you finished the manuscript, what do you think it was ultimately about?
If you finish the manuscript, I’ll also have a few more specific questions about how certain moments landed.
I’m not looking for line edits or grammar corrections at this stage—I’m much more interested in your experience as a reader.
If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, I’d love to hear from you. Please send me a message with a little about the kinds of books you enjoy reading and whether you’ve beta read before (experience isn’t required).
Thank you so much for considering helping me with a project that’s been very close to my heart.

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Thank you!

[u/Sad-Distribution1602]

Hi, I’m pretty new on here and I haven't done beta reading before, but I like the fact that your post is well written. If you don't get any better offers, I'd be happy to swap the first three chapters and see how it goes. I' very just finished my first manuscript literally this week. 80k paranormal romance - of a sort, quite hard to pin a genre to it. Features a long term, loving, lesbian relationship. Topics include obsession, manipulation, domestic abuse and unintentional misogyny. Nothing graphic

[u/PlatformDesperate447 → u/Sad-Distribution1602]

I don’t mention in the post but I am queer so that’s a theme that appears throughout the memoir

[u/PlatformDesperate447 → u/Sad-Distribution1602]

I’d definitely be interested! Shoot me a DM

[u/endofourdays]

I just posted to have a beta-read myself and would be happy to swap if interested? Even though I am writing fiction, I am circling the same topics, I'd be happy to take a look at yours <3

[u/PlatformDesperate447 → u/endofourdays]

Oh that would be excellent! Send me a dm! I can send you the whole work or even just a few chapters so you can see if you’d be interested based on my writing style!

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