Review: A Journey of Self Discovery <3
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2014
~ I’ve always been silent not wanting to face the helpless child fighting for freedom. Freedom from herself. Praying to forget, sweeping my emotions under the rug, waiting for them to disappear one day. ~What do you do when your world revolves around unwarranted guilt? Shouldering the pain of her world, Lacey sets forth to rebuild her life. When we last left her, she had naively decided to give Caine another chance. Side note; I don’t use nave in a negative connotation. I use it with the knowledge that Lacey is so FULL of love to give, she sometimes blindly gives it to undeserving people. Case in point: Caine. Here is a man SO undeserving of all that she has to offer. She has given him her world, a child, her heart and soul, and it was never enough. As we were ending Destructive Silence, Lacey catches Caine cheating, ONCE AGAIN, and in the process of her world crumbling is run over by a car. And we fade to black…~ Our movements flow like the waves of the ocean. I am the water, he is the moon. His gravitational pull is strong as it sends a strong current ripping through me after every departure. ~Full warning: if you thought the first book was an emotional roller-coaster, grab a box of tissues and hold onto something tight because you haven’t seen anything yet! Not only is Lacey’s personal growth in this book breathtakingly staggering, but L.U. Ann’s literary growth is extremely apparent. There is a maturity in this book that sometimes wasn’t present in the last. I know a lot of that has to do with the ages of the characters, but it also comes from getting your feet wet. While I really like the last book, the issues I had all dealt with maturity. Looking past that, you had one hell of a gut-wrenching story, and it was the feelings that stood out. Through Lacey, L.U. has come into herself as a phenomenal author, and definitely one to keep your eyes on! Now that I have author loved, back to the story :-)~ The feeling is intoxicating. I’m drunk on him. He’s like a drug and I’m freaking addicted.~As I stated earlier, Lacey is essentially rebuilding her life from page one. With the love of her son, and the love of a good man, she is finding out who she is and who she wants to be. To watch the choices she had to make, it brought many a tear to my eyes, like a proud momma. She is leaps and bounds away from where she was in the previous book. Though the future is uncertain, Lacey is optimistic. She goes through MANY struggles in this book; emotionally, physically, and mentally. Her sanity is truly tested, and the unknown provides over every decision. Throughout every turn, I was right there with her. Heart breaking, soul shattering, and life affirming moments run rampant and you will be left a different person long after the last page has been turned. This girl can shoulder guilt like no other I’ve ever read. If there is blame to be had, Lacey will take ownership of it. I just wanted to shake her, and then give her a hug.~ “I loved you yesterday, I love you today and I will love you forever.” ~One emotion resonated with me throughout this entire story, and that is hope. Unbridled, sometimes unfounded, yet nevertheless prevalent hope was always on the forefront. Hope to recover from the past, hope to make the right decisions for the future, and hope to just enjoy loving love and the present. Sometimes you never truly know a person, and that was never truthful than in this book. Truth. What a simple word, yet so complex. There are many hard truths revealed and realize in this book, some of which may be hard for some to stomach. But the fact of the matter is that they are HONEST truths and far more common a situation than many would choose to believe. What Lacey goes through by no means is singular only to her, but they are things that not only are hardly talked about, but looked down upon. I think knowing that the author not only has a special connection to the content, but actually LIVED it only helps readers to connect easier. Too often I think we get caught up in the fact that these are fictional characters, but many, if not most, of the situations they go through have some if not ALL basis on real life. Even if you personally didn't go through this, many have. I think readers lose sight of that too much. We are all human, we all make mistakes, and we all have shit happen to us. No one can say with 100% certainty what they would do until they are actually in that situation. And to pass judgment on someone otherwise or in ANY case is just ludicrous. I think L.U. is to be commended for putting it all out there. Her raw emotions show and translate beautifully. Not all, but some stories can only be told by someone who has lived it. Destructive Choices is a testament to that!~ No matter what happens, this is the truth of our love. I believe in this. This is my future, my only one. ~Least you not go into this thinking it is ALL sad, one particular bright light I cannot and will not go into detail about. This you truly need to experience for yourself. It’s truly a beautiful thing. The love, the connection, your soul recognizing from the beginning what was always there. Believe me when I say that this book has it all! Cannot wait to see what L.U. Ann comes out with for us next. I very much look forward in anticipation of continuing the journey she has set forth for us. A journey of life, love, redemption, and relieving guilt.