It's the start of another new week and fall has finally started to roll in, I thought it was an excellent time to post a new review!
Want something that's not fiction, romance, or mystery? How about a true story! Try Elephant Girl by Jane Devin, not to be confused with the book The Elephant Man. I must warn you though, this book has some gripping pretty horrible parts - a reader with a queasy stomach may not want to delve right into this one. The Amazon description of the book says: Devin takes readers on an intimate, and often harrowing life journey. She was born unwanted and raised without love. Leaving home at 16, the teen-author struggled to find happiness and a sense of place in a world that felt confusing and unfamiliar. Then, years after stumbling into an adulthood mired in tragedy and broken dreams, the woman-author found herself at a crossroads. The choice she ultimately mad is as stunning as it is brave. Told in unflinching and often lyrical prose, Elephant Girl goes beyond a singular life story to speak of powerful, universal truths and the ability of the human spirit to redeem itself.Devin says she wrote this book for those who struggled against the odds to forge their own roads to recovery -- who may not have always known how, and who may have stumbled so horribly along the way that they didn't know if recovery would be possible -- but who loved life enough to keep hoping and trying. There really is a green field on the other side. It took me four decades to find it -- to accept the support and faith of others and to take the risk I needed to take to save my own life -- but now that I'm here it feels more important to me than ever to let other "elephant girls" know that they are not alone. Beyond damage, beyond brokenness, beyond even the worst mistakes and hurtful judgments, there is a place of redemption and repair.
Blog subscriber Crystal says the book was intense and both "difficult to read, and difficult not to read." Crystal further says, "throughout reading I would be sick to my stomach, angry and happy. I can't remember the last time one book had me feeling so many emotions. The authors (she uses numerous names throughout the book, so it’s hard to call her 'Jane') account of the abuse she’s faced leaves me speechless and shocked; she on the other hand never loses hope that there is something better for her. Every time she starts to build a life for herself everything falls apart; many would give up hope long before they made it through half of her struggles. I wasn't able to fly through this book; I needed time to recover and process her accounts of abuse or lowest points. At times I even considered not picking it up again and selecting a new book altogether so I wouldn't have to know what happened next, but at the same time I couldn't quit, I had to know. Now that I've finished her story, felt her fight and determination to have a happy ending, boy am I glad I didn't quit on her!"
Jane Devin has a blog you might want to check out, you can find it here.
The book is currently only $4.99 for the Kindle version, not a bad deal for a book that is undoubtedly going to pull on every human emotion as you work your way through it!
Happy Reading!
