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Sunday, March 17, 2013

New giveaway! Now I'm giving away Wings of Glass by Gina Holmes!


About the book:

On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny’s happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn’t the last, yet the bruises that can’t be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.

My review:

This book doesn't release until next year, but I believe you can pre-order it now. Nevertheless, I received the book in the mail and decided I'd just take a peek at a few pages, then I intended to set it aside to read closer to the release date. Well, the next thing I knew I was a third of the way through the story and didn't want to stop. If I didn't have a full-time job I probably would have finished it in one sitting. I was deeply insightful and so true-to-life that I forgot I was reading fiction. I've met many people like the main character, Penny, both in my personal life and during my professional career as a social worker. I have to say the author is spot-on when it comes to a victim's mindset.

The author was not afraid to show how things were rationalized in the point of view of someone who felt trapped, but still loved their abuser. I fell in love with the story from the beginning because though the main character was a victim, I understood her and empathized with her situation. I loved how the author showed the progression of Penny's thinking to the point where she finally saw that she also played a role in keeping herself trapped and positioned as a victim. Everyone's story is different when they suffer from abuse, but Penny's felt so genuine and real that the story made a lot of sense. She could have been a friend, a neighbor, or someone in a church fellowship. I wanted to help her like her friends did, but I also wanted her to discover that she needed help. If those ladies hadn't stuck by her despite her bad choices, I don't know where she would have ended up. I was grateful for them hanging in there.

Last, the author's voice in this book was compelling and had the tone of classic literature. I could hear the poverty in her dialog and the immaturity that allowed her to be trapped for so long. The author did a fantastic job with the way the story was told. I loved how she wrote the story like she was telling her son about his father. A few times it moved me to tears because it was so honest and heart felt. All people are three-dimensional, even abusers. Why not let the child know that his father really did love him even if he didn't know how to express it. Why should a mother tell her child only the bad things about her marriage and not share the good along with the reality of what happened? Anyway, I don't want to post spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. In short, this book was fantastic. Even though it's not 2013 yet, this book is making my favorites this for 2013. If Wings of Glass doesn't win at least one contest, I'll be shocked. It's top-notch storytelling and I loved it.

Wings of Glass is published by Tyndale and release in March 2013! Buy Wings of Glass now!

And now for the question.... 

Have you known anyone in a physically abusive relationship? (You don't need to be specific.) How did it influence you?

I will draw a winner next Sunday using "The Hat" randomizer. :)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am the person that was abused. It left me with feelings of low self-esteem, did not trusting any man, hated myself and hate life. I still deal with depression on a daily basis. But thank God I have finally found someone that treats me like the queen my mother told me I should be treated like. I have an awesome husband who thinks I am wonderful and tells me daily how much he loves me!

Nancee said...

My second daughter was in an abusive relationship in her late teens. It was heartbreaking! She continued to endure the abuse, thinking the abuser would change. This overwhelmingly painful experience has left scars in all of our heart. She finally found freedom, married another young man, and has raised her son and her husband's two sons, but I still see the pain in her eyes, and the broken spirit.
Nancee
quiltcat26[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

Norma S said...

Thank you for the book and a chance to win it. My daughter and granddaughter was mentally abused they have low esteem and depression, I didn't know that this was going on, it is hard to tell when it is mental abused because you can't see it, but it hurts just the same, he even threaten them.It is terrible what people has to go through. God bless you.
Norma S. n38stanforth(at)gmail(dot)com

Bethany said...

I haven't known anyone who was physically abused, but I have seen emotional abuse. It has caused me to be very careful in my relationships.

Cbus.blogger at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I was in a physical, mental, controlling relationship for more years than I care to admit. They are always sorry after they hit you and promise never to do it again BUT I found out that those were empty words. How did I get out of that relationship? He left me for another woman. I am thankful that he did. It probably saved my life.

I am now remarried to a Godly caring man and life is good!

sweetpea.judy(at)yahoo(dot)com

Diana Flowers said...

My daughter was in an abusive relationship. When I went to see her in the hospital when she had her first child she had a black eye. It about broke my heart. And then she ended up in another abusive relationship after that one. Now she is content to live alone with her child and wait upon the Lord for a spouse...and if that doesn't happen she'll be content. It took her a long while to realize she was better than that!

dianalflowers[at]aol[dot]com

Noor Unnahar said...

My aunt was in a physical abusive relationship , which is over now . But I had seen it so nearly . She always said that love was blind so she's standing for her love . No matter what happens . It just influenced me that if you truly need something , you only have to take a few stands for it . Then the fate will clear ways for you . You just need to be a strong person.
noorsiddique@live.co.uk

Anita Yancey said...

When I was little my aunt came to our house and she had black eyes and bruises all over her. She was beaten by her husband. My mom tried to get her to leave him but she didn't and is still with him today. But seeing her that way, I made the decision that nobody would ever do that to me and get away with it.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

windycindy said...

I have seen abuse in the form of verbal/emotional domestic abuse...
Sometimes, I think it is as bad or
worse, than physical abuse. My youngest niece was married for 6 years to a man, who made her become anorexic, because he was always telling her that she would become fat, if she ate. There are also other times, that I have witnessed this awful abuse in my family...

Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Sarah Rebekah Richmond said...

I would love to win,enter me!!!
Thanks for the giveaway and God Bless!!!
Sarah Richmond
sarahrichmond[dot]12[at]gmail[dot]com
N.C.

Unknown said...

I don't know anyone but I know I wouldn't let a man hit me. I would be gone. Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to read this book. Tore923@aol.com

Edgy Inspirational Author said...

and the winner is...

Anita!

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