Lexi's Reviews > Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man

How do you nurture a sociopath?

If you were not aware, this book is written by Donald Trump's niece Mary. It is a VERY short book, but it is very good.

So let's break down a little bit about what this book is exactly. You aren't going to find any state secrets here. For anyone asking "Why Didn't Mary speak out earlier", this is addresses, but this is isn't a political expose. At it's heart, Too Much and Never Enough is a story about an extremely twisted family, that is much about the other Trumps as it is Donald.

Nothing in this book would sway a true believer. Nothing here is going to rock the world of an undecided voter- because this is a book about who the Trumps are as people. We have already seen Trump mock women, non white folks, disabled people. We have seen him do so many evil things. If you don't know who Trump is by now, I don't really know what to say about you. Too Much and Never Enough is this woman's catharsis- its a way for her to release her trauma. Her book chronicles essentially, how she was became disenchanted with her family before 45 ever decided to run for office, how she was disinherited, and where Fred Trump comes into play as a lynchpin at the center of it all.

Mary's father, Fred Trump junior, was an outlier. Not necessary a good man, but a complicated one who had made a number of visible mistakes before she was even born. She describes his dark relationship with his brother, and her father's slow physical and mental decline as he falls out of favor with Fred Senior. Much of this book is really told through her father's eyes, and through the stories he told her before his passing.

Mary's grandfather Fred is also hi lighted as an abuser that gaslit and traumatized his children, saw the evil in his own younger son, and then raised him as an ideal son to take on the family name. Fred Senior's cruelty towards everyone around him, and shady business practices help shaped the monster we now know today as 45.

As for Donald Trump- Mary uses a number of personal and family stories to paint a picture of Trump's youth. Trump's behavior doesn't come out of thin air, and Mary is really able to paint a picture of 45 at his darkest, which started at a much earlier age than some may expect. These personal stories are chilling and callous- often reflecting his relationships with the American people during his four years as president.

You get some interesting little tidbits about "modern" behavior from the family as well, from small squabbles to election night anecdotes. Imagine the literary families of Long days Journey Into the Night or Haunting of Hill House. The Trump family in Mary's book is almost laughably literary "broken wealthy".

I highly recommend Too Much and Never Enough, even if you don't find yourself often drawn towards non fiction- if only because this is a simple and easy to follow biography that helps us understand how we got where we are now. How Donald Trump, against all odds, rose in the ranks of his own family from a younger "second son", and ended up making all of us pay for his neurosis.

I think most folks would go into this worried that Mary is providing excuses or sympathy for her family, and I can assure you that is not the case. Mary is an exceptional author and intelligent woman who makes no excuses for her family, and manages to tell a hard and painful story with striking objectivity and honesty.