Saturday, April 13, 2013

Elephant Girl: A Human Story by Jane Devin

I could hardly put down this book. At times it is very graphic, disturbing and raw but I kept wanting to find out what happened to this woman. I kept hoping that the next chapter in her life things would be better and just when it looked like that happened, she'd be thrown to the ground again. One thing after another showed how horrible life can be at times.

I loved how real and transparent she was throughout the book telling her story. Of the struggles that she endured and how she tried to overcome them but usually with little or very short-lived success. Using the word "struggles," is putting it mildly. I don't want to go into the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that she endured but it made me almost physically sick to read what she endured. She talked about how in her mid-forties she contemplated suicide. To be honest, I'm surprised she didn't do it by the time she was sixteen or mid-twenties with everything that she endured.

I loved how she always had a dream to be a writer and no matter what, she kept trying to reach that goal. She has a blog and is now a published author who is not in her fifties. She's dreamed of having a house on a beach with two dogs and a typewriter on the porch where she can write her stories. I hope that one day that dream will come true.

I would recommend this book but I will warn you that her descriptions of abuse are graphic. Her language is colorful but it's real and poignant. It's not a book of redemption or her finding God but it's a real story, of a real person, who's life was "hell on earth" but her indomitable spirit wouldn't let quit and no matter what happened to her, she kept going. What a courageous story and I'm so glad that she endured and I wish her God's blessing in her life.

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