Book
Review
Basic Details:
Book Title: When Angels Fly
Subtitle:
Author:
S Jackson and A Raymond
Genre: memoir
Part of a series? No
Order in series: N/A
Best read after earlier
books in series? N/A
Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39721092-when-angels-fly
Overall
score:
I
scored this book 5/5
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
Short
Summary of the book:
This book tells the story of the life of
Sarah, a young woman. Physically and mentally abused by her mother in
childhood, the mental abuse from her mother continued during her adult life.
Hoping to escape the abusive home life and
dreaming of a loving husband and children, she falls into a loveless marriage
with a violent and alcoholic husband.
Life appears to take a turn to the better
when Sarah finds herself pregnant with their first child, a son she desperately
longs for but is stillborn.
The abuse from her mother and husband continues,
and after giving birth to two more sons and being forced to undergo a
sterilisation, she finally gathers the strength and courage to leave her
husband when he turns his violence towards the boys.
Now life really seems to look more positive.
At least, until her youngest son falls ill and another harrowing time starts
within her life. With only help from close friends and the difficult situation
seen as an opportunity to take away all she loves from her by her husband and
family, she struggles and fights to ensure the best lives possible for her
sons.
And what a brave little boy Eli was. Even at
the age of five he already tried to protect his mother and hung up the phone on
his dad when he became abusive. An astounding maturity for a five-year-old,
which unfortunately is too often seen by children who suffer with serious
illnesses.
What
I liked about the book:
I particularly liked how Sarah managed to
keep positive throughout the many trials sent her way. She kept going and never
gave in. Where many people would be crippled and paralysed by what was thrown
in her path, she kept fighting for her sons and her own future.
Even when Eli was terminally ill she did all
in her power to give him as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
The book also made me realise how lucky I
have been in life and how much of a doddle it has been in comparison. The
trials and tribulations taking place in my own life paled in comparison and it
made me realise I should count my blessings rather than complain about some, in
comparison minor, things that happened to me.
What
I didn’t like about the book:
I enjoyed reading the book, if that is the
correct term, and felt pride in this courageous woman. Her pain was palpable,
not only in the words, but also in the way she had distanced herself somewhat
from the story while writing. It was obvious the scars are still very raw and
fresh and the only way she was able to put pen to paper was to approach the
book in a near clinical way. This also showed in the many technical/medical
terms she used throughout the book. Sarah kept her real emotions closely under
wrap and I am certain it would have overpowered her if she hadn’t.
There was nothing I did not like about the
book.
My
favourite bits in the book:
I loved where Sarah was able to see the
happiness in all the little things she could do for her son and how she even
found happiness in the darkest of times. The way she was able to show that
adversity does not equal never finding happiness will be an inspiration to many
others. It was obvious her love for her sons gave her the strength to never
give up and keep fighting for their happiness and safety, and to do the very
best she could in a nearly impossible situation.
My
least favourite bits in the book:
It was impossible to have any good feelings
towards the abusive mother, husband and brother. The obviously dysfunctional
family Sarah had originated from continued to put hurdles in her way and
feelings of ‘get a life’ and ‘do you have no common sense/decency?’ frequently
surfaced while reading what they put Sarah and her children through. Hat off to
Sarah to keep fighting and in gaining a happy life for her kids in as far as
she was able to under extremely difficult circumstances.
Any
further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?
I understand this author has written several
other books with her author husband. This, however, was a memoir, relating real
life trials and tribulations.
What
books could this be compared to and why?
This book reminded me of other memoirs,
although it is in a league of its own. It is easy to see why it has won several
awards.
Recommendation:
In summary,
I would recommend this book for the following readers:
|
Children
|
No
|
|
Young
Adult
|
Maybe
|
|
Adult
|
Yes
|
If you like memoirs
this book could be the book for you. It is a book which will pull on
your heartstrings, but is well worth the read. Although it contains many
medical terms, these are all explained well and I expect they will not form any
problem for readers without medical knowledge.
If you are looking to read a book where the lead
character faces many hardships and still comes out a strong individual, this is
definitely the place to go.
Well done to the author. It is obvious from
how she distanced herself from her emotions her scars still run very deep, are
very raw and fresh. And that is only to be expected. No one should have to lose
a child. Even when you know they will now be in a better place, you still miss
them and it will feel like a part of you was ripped out and a massive, gaping
hole has been left behind. Life goes on, but it will never be the same.
I
look forward to reading more books by this author.
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