**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**The author starts this book with a warning that the story contains distressing content so I prepared myself both mentally and emotionally. Or so I thought... A Life Less Broken was definitely a dark, gut wrenching read starting from the pre-prologue until the four epilogues at the end. I love when an author tells a story in which you can feel the emotions of the characters, you go through their pain, sorrow, sadness or happiness with them. In this case, I cried, cringed and was scared right along with Allyn, rooting for her to heal and overcome what the monsters did to her. Margaret McHeyzer told a powerful, emotional story of a woman beaten and broken who overcomes the darkness and finds a love that leads her to a life less broken. I loved Allyn and Dominic and the development of their relationship. Scarred, traumatized and afraid to leave her home, he comes into her life and helps her to heal. His patience, commitment and love helped her to overcome her demons. She helped him as well, as he was dealing with his own pain. I enjoyed the twist and the HEA at the end was awesome. My only issues...some of the events should have been discussed in more detail and the epilogue on the monsters had me feeling some pity for them. These were brutal, abuse, sadistic men and I had to remind myself of the events at the beginning of the book to avoid feeling bad for them. Just another example of how the author writes her characters so well, you can feel what they feel....Great story! WARNING!!!! This is not for the feint of heart. There are serious triggers in this book for anyone who has suffered an assault, particularly of a sexual nature. That having been said, I feel it is very important for us to read subject matter that is challenging. We may not like the terrible things that happen in this world, but they happen nonetheless and ignoring them doesn't do anyone any good. Staring them down shows us things in the human experience that , hopefully, allow us to see others in a less harsh light. If we knew other's stories, perhaps we could all get along a little better. Besides, survivors deserve a voice. They need to know that people hear their pain and suffering, and even if we can't truly understand it, at least their stories are being told. I needed a break after the very beginning of this story... It was THAT intense. What I enjoyed about this story was riding along with the leading lady (Allyn), while she dragged herself, kicking and screaming out of a place of darkness and despair. Her journey is NOT an easy one and her struggles will break your heart, but you will cheer each small (huge) victory that Allyn achieves. She is not fighting her demons alone. Her parents are actively in her life, though she has pretty much shut everyone else out, or they drifted away on their own, and she has her shrink. Her progress has really stalled and three years after her attack, she still really hasn't been able to gain much ground back toward any kind of normalcy. Fortunately she chooses this time to watch a little television and catches an interview with some other assault survivors. She is surprised by how well they seem to be doing. They sing the praises of their shrink... Enter Dr Dominic Shriver. It's easy to see Dominic as the hero in this tale, but Dominic shows us time and time again that although he is supporting Allyn in her recovery, she is really rescuing herself. Her choices are the catalyst to every step forward she manages to take. It is both slow and fast going. The first three years drag, but then she seems to move forward in leaps and bounds. I pride myself on being able to see the twists and turns that authors write into their stories and I am rarely surprised by a reveal (though it has happened), Margaret did manage to stun me with a reveal. I was not prepared at all to come face to face with Allyn's abuser. I also enjoyed the way Margaret told us the story from both Allyn's perspective and from Dominic's perspective. It was refreshing to see inside the heads of both the leading characters. What I really loved about this story was seeing such a damaged soul refuse to give up. Allyn was a wonderfully strong woman who refused to die and refused to stay shut away in a beige world. She took back her life and her power and found colour. If you can make it through the frightening pain in the first chapter, you will find a wonderful story of strength and courage and love. Just open the door.
What do You think about A Life Less Broken (2000)?
hearth breaking and yet romantic.,.. it's an easy read and very engaging...
—meghanbirt
