Darswords

I Have People by Taylor Dean

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now, that’s unusual, you might be saying. Dar is giving a romance novel five stars. Yep. I am. That is because this is a cautionary tale of what all those romantic ideals can hand those who are blind in their love for the romantic partner. Notice, I said partner. Notice I didn’t just identify this as a fem issue. I realize that there are relationships of all kinds where one partner uses the other for a punching ball physically and or mentally. That is NOT love, folks.

Let me take a moment out to warn those with PTSD who have been in bad relationships, this book does have triggers. Even so, if you can live past them there are lessons to be learned here. Granted the outcome is much better than most real life situations might have. It is fiction after all.

BUT climb into the mind of the intelligent yet emotionally unstable young woman, Holly Sinclair. That is what Taylor Dean, the author, did quite well. I, personally, recognized many of Holly’s thoughts. These are the thoughts romanticized in many young adult/romance novels. They are angsty. At least Ms. Dean gave Holly a narrative of conflicting thoughts that rationalize both the healthy thoughts and the not so healthy ones. That gives the person who may be going through this additional thoughts to play out in their own minds. Remember, survival is more important than dead or maiming done in the name of ‘love’.

The most important lesson of this book is in the title: I Have People. The most important thing a person who is being abused needs to know is that they have people. To go find help. Pride be damned. Safety is more important. And though the women’s shelter was an option in the book that was tossed aside, I have known friends that gained a lot by going to the shelter and learning new ways to live their lives.

Meanwhile, for the rest of us who have relative safety around us, BE THE PEOPLE. As those around Holly notice and gracefully befriended her and drew her into safety. We need to be that kind of friends. Don’t hide from this situation. Do what you can to help make the abused person safe.

What I didn’t like was the lack of help for the abuser. I know he chose his own way, but we need as a society to find ways to recognize these people and bring them to re-education in places that keep others safe from them while they get the help they need, nonnegotiable help.

This is a social issue. The book should bring up discussion. Even so, it was a very good book that I couldn’t stop reading. It was well after 5 AM when I was finally able to go to sleep. The other caution. Smile. From about 50% in make sure to give yourself a chance to take care of yourself. It gets heavy!

Oh, I won this book initially in a contest held by the author. I picked it up on Smashwords then promptly forgot I had it. Sorry. Then I saw it as a freebie on Kindle. Picked it up. And to show how mixed up I really am, I read this on my MoonReader Pro because I could use its text-to-speech on my tablet in the dark. Soon I will be able to read these on my new Fire which has that feature. Can’t wait for that to get here! Anyway, the book is $2.99 on Smashwords and $3.99 on Amazon. Well worth the price! Sorry, Ms. Dean, for getting to it so late.

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