Review: A truly touching wake up call
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 22, 2013
Rumors is a raw and honest journey of learning how to deal with and overcome the grief of losing a loved one. Not only does this precious soul have to deal with unbearable grief, but she has heaped irrepressible guilt on top of it. This has resulted in a life lacking in its former freedom, joy, and hope that is slowly making her die from the inside out. This is a story that will break your heart and show you the importance or reaching out to those around us in need of comfort and a listening ear.Allie Collins is trying to go through the motions of making it through her senior year of high school with the burden of having her heart torn out at the death of her precious cousin. The void in her soul at this terrible loss has turned her into the shell of her former self. She has lost her ambition and her dreams are only fading memories. She doubts her heart, and she pushes her feelings so far away from her that she no longer knows how to feel anything more than soul-searing loss and guilt. Just as she finds someone she can open up to and begin to feel as if healing is within reach, she is dealt a devastating blow.I greatly admire Allie’s inner strength and will to live. Even though her doubts stifle her ability to love and her will to live a full and meaningful life, she still presses on and refuses to give up. She presses ever on to find a way to numb the pain and the ache that is ever present in her heart. In spite of her self-imposed punishment, Allie’s strength of character is unfailing in keeping her from completely succumbing to despair. She strives to find peace and a balance to her life because she knows she can’t live with this darkness. While hope seems elusive, she pushes ever forward to find a way to live and survive.While I was frustrated with the people in Allie’s life not making more of an effort to reach out and make a difference in her life, I have to resign myself to that fact that we are all human. No one truly knew the depth of her suffering save one, and he did all he could to reach out and help show her how to start healing her broken heart. This touching story should serve as a wake-up call to us to look beyond ourselves and to reach out to those who are hurting in silence.Erica Kiefer writes with such depth of heart and amazing talent that you will find that your will lose your heart along the way. You will find her words will flow from the pages and seep into the inner most recesses of your heart. They will touch you even when you think that nothing else can for you cannot stop the gentle force that the truth has.