Unbroken: One Woman's Journey to Rebuild a Life Shattered by Violence. A True Story of Survival and Hope by Madeleine Black

Unbroken: One Woman's Journey to Rebuild a Life Shattered by Violence. A True Story of Survival and Hope by Madeleine Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - read in one sitting

Pages - 288

Publisher - John Blake

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

"For many years after that night, my memories of what happened after he held the blade to my throat and threatened my life were fragmented . . . difficult to piece together. It was too extreme, too violent for me to understand."

Living in a state of shock and self-loathing, it took her years of struggle to confront the buried memories of that first attack and begin to undo the damage it wrought, as men continued to take advantage of her fragility in the worst possible way. Yet, after growing up with a burden no teenager should ever have to shoulder, she found the heart to carry out the best revenge plan of all: leading a fulfilling and happy life. But the road to piecing her life back together was long and painful. For Madeleine, forgiveness was the key. True forgiveness takes genuine effort. It takes a real desire to understand those who have done us so much harm. It is the ultimate act of courage. In Unbroken, Madeleine tells her deeply moving and empowering story, as she discovers that life is about how a person chooses to recover from adversity.


My Review

Madeleine was brutally raped at a very young age, changing her life and everything she knew or felt about herself. Madeleine went on to be attacked again and again, and struggled behind a wall of silence and self loathing. As Madeleine got older she followed many paths that eventually led her to a path of self discover, personal growth, understanding, love and amazingly of all - forgiveness.

I need to warn all readers that this is a brutally honest book and accounts of horrendous sexual and violent abuse are discussed in graphic detail. It makes for hard and very emotive reading, I think any reader will be move to tears, anger and rage for the innocent child that was failed by so many.

The book follows Madeleine on a journey of a downward spiral into some very dark episodes to eventually turning it around and dealing with the traumas, abuse and uses it to help others. It takes a very brave person to survive what she did, to then use it to help others is truly an inspiring and amazing act. I think this book will speak to so many individuals and maybe bring comfort to other survivors, knowing they are not alone. There is a spiritual aspect of the book that I am going to further look into, I found it really interesting and want to know more about it. I think anything that helps to bring inner peace/coping mechanisms will be beneficial to many readers, if they are interested in it and how it can positively impact your life. Despite being harrowing in places the book is also very uplifting when you see the whole journey. I picked this up to read one chapter before bed, I stayed up to 5am until I finished it, 5/5 for me this time. I would love to hug the author, for what she survived, for putting herself out there and for offering hope and a voice to so many, a brave and inspiring human, thank you!

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Chasing the Traveller by Alex Kane

Chasing the Traveller by Alex Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 222

Publisher - Indie

Source - ARC (author)

Blurb from Goodreads

Kat is trapped in a world where she has never belonged. As a traveller, she has always felt lost, especially since the death of her parents in a fire when she was fourteen years old. Having been taken on by the Denton family as their own, Kat falls in love with their son, tearaway Jimmy. His charm soon wears off and Kat finds herself married to a controlling and violent thug.

Sixteen years later, Kat decides enough is enough and begins plotting her escape from a lifetime of abuse.

Stripped of her personality, Kat has no idea how to start again but she finds an unlikely ally in her sister-in-law Ellie who shows Kat that she is not alone.

Kat and Ellie Denton begin their venture into a new world, where they meet new people and build new lives. But Kat still wants to know more about her parents’ past and when she seeks the location of an address on the back of a family photograph, Kat begins to uncover more than she expected including a revelation that will lead Kat back to the traveller site she had been so desperate to escape from.

Will she find the answers she is looking for, or will she fall prey to the violent Jimmy Denton once more?


My Review

Kat Denton is battered, abused, treated like an animal and has nowhere to turn to in her travelling community. Finding herself in a situation that changes everything and forms an unlikely alliance with Ellie, her sister in law, Kat takes the plunge and runs from her abusive husband. This is their story, by escaping Kat and Ellie find themselves on a journey of self discovery, healing, hope and that you cannot outrun your past.

I have bought a few of this authors work when writing under Emma Clapperton but had yet to read them. This is a genre switch and my first dance with this author, the story is both very dark and filled with hope. The start of the story sees Kat being horrifically abused by her husband, violence, rape, emotional abuse and manipulation which makes for hard reading at parts. It is very real to life in parts and I think anyone who has experienced such trauma(s) may find a very emotive response. Passages like this in fiction is really a testament to the authors writing skills and much of the book is not like this, however I feel it needed comment on.

I thought the story was going to be lots of violence and suspense, in actual fact a lot of the focus was about rebuilding a life, acceptance, self discover, survival and recovery. Trust and learning how to assess, accept and recover from emotional manipulation, we follow Kat's very personal journey. It also has danger looming on the edges as Kat and Ellie are on the run from Kat's husband who we know could appear anywhere. The book is a very different read than what I expected and depending on the readers background and life experiences I think it will strike very emotive responses.

Human beings are amazing in what they can endure, survive and cope and whilst this is a work of fiction I think many will be able to relate to it from very real experiences. The book tackles relationships, roles, abuse, family, friendship, love, actions and consequences it also has a sense of danger, survival and the old you cannot run from your past. It is a busy wee book and had time permitted I would have read it in one sitting. 4/5 for me, at time of posting the ebook is available for pre order for 99p. I think I will need to bump the authors other works up my TBRM mountain, this may have been my first dance with this author, it won't be my last!

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