Synopsis:
At only twenty-five years old, Emily has lost her sense of worth and her identity has faded into a distant chasm. Abused, isolated, and a former shell of herself, she is trapped in her mind and in her music. Yet she has a dream—the only thing that reminds her she is still alive.
(Synopsis taken from Rachael Wade's website.)
My Thoughts:
I read this book for the 2012 ebook challenge. I thought this was a good short read. It gives hope to women that have been abused. It helps abused women discover that there's always a way out, and things will get better if you seek help. It's about this woman, Emily who gets abused by her boyfriend, Scott. She however finds comfort in gardening and playing the piano. The characters in this book are very well written. I wish that Mrs. Han was described in better detail, and there was a little bit more of her back story. My favorite character was Emily. She might be seen as weak by some people for putting up with Scott's abuse as long as she did. However, I think she was a very strong character for seeking help eventually. This ebook is a free book on her site that I highly suggest reading.
I give The Soul's Sonata: 4/5.
You can get this book for free by following the directions on this link: http://www.rachaelwade.com/?page_id=1450
I received this book for free and was in no way compensated for this review.
I loved reading your thoughts on this, especially the fact that Mrs. Han intrigued you enough that you wanted to know more about her. She's such a tiny yet significant character in this short and I really enjoyed writing about her brief influence in Emily's life.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to write this review and best of luck with the new blog.
Much love,
Rachael
xo
Great review Kayla! Physical abuse is one of those subjects that not many people want to cover, but enough can not be said on the subject. I'm glad that you pointed out the fact that you felt that Emily really was a strong woman, because that was the same feeling that I got from her. Most people don't realize that the weakest person in an abusive relationship is the abuser.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachael. I'm glad you liked it. Do you plan on writing a sequel (SPOILER ALERT for anyone else reading this) about Emily possibly getting into Juilliard or auditioning again? I think it would be great to see how life progresses for since she's out of the abusive relationship.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Julie. I've been through physical abuse before, and I don't like how most people sweep it under the rug or refuse to talk about it like it doesn't happen. It happens to a lot of people. I think it's pretty amazing when an author covers an abuse story, and isn't afraid to talk about the topic, especially in more than one book, like Rachael has.
ReplyDelete@Julie "Most people don't realize that the weakest person in an abusive relationship is the abuser."
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with that one. I've fortunately never suffered physical abuse, but have other forms of abuse and truly believe it takes a massive amount of inner strength to pull yourself out of something so toxic, especially when you have no support system. I actually wrote this short during a time my mom was in a physically abusive marriage. He almost killed her, and I used this to relay the admiration I had for her strength to get out when she did. And she had no support system because she'd pushed everyone away at the time (due to his controlling ways). So I really focused on that. She was strong and he was weak, even though he had all of the "power." No matter what he took from her physically, he couldn't take her soul, her inner strength. Thank you so much for reading and commenting on this.I love hearing how you've interpreted it.
Much love,
Rachael
xo
@Kayla I haven't planned on continuing the story, but who knows, maybe some day. At the time, it felt finished and I'm not sure I could go back. I liked leaving the future open for Emily and for the reader to imagine the best for her. I am working on a collection of short stories that I plan to release at some point (and The Soul's Sonata will be included), so I might include a sequel at that point. We'll see...
ReplyDelete@Julie Almost forgot--if you have a second, Julie, feel free to leave your thoughts on the story on the e-short page here: http://www.rachaelwade.com/?page_id=1450
ReplyDeleteThanks again for reading!
My theory is that after some time, Emily found the strength to move on with her life and do great things, including getting accepted into Julliard, and went on to be a great musician.
ReplyDeleteI love (and second) that theory! ;)
ReplyDeleteI figured it could go one of two ways.
ReplyDelete1. She would move on with her life and follow her dreams.
2. He would find her and apologize. She would take him back, just to go through the cycle of abuse once again.
She seems way too smart and strong to pick the second choice.
Wow, you know what? I never considered the second theory. That's an interesting perspective, especially since it's one that many women take. It's definitely a realistic path. Many women become used to that type of treatment and don't know any other way...I know that's what happened to my mom.
ReplyDeleteI agree, though. I think Emily knows what's best for her and knows that there's nothing good waiting for her if she ever returned.
I have a friend that stays with her husband because she doesn't know any other way. She constantly gets verbally and physically abused and just puts up with it because she loves him and wants to stay with him. We've tried to get her help, and she refused.
ReplyDelete