Forget Me Not
by Christina D. Kennedy
Trafford Publishing
book review by Sandra Shwayder Sanchez
"Forget Me Not is written in and out of reality, in a way that the scar is looked at deep enough to recall but not rubbed enough to ignite the fire to its hottest point. It is disturbing to some to know that many events in Forget Me Not actually happen."
Thus the author introduces this unforgettable, often unbelievable, novel based on true events. It is said that truth is stranger than fiction and so much of what happens in this novel feels like it must be true because who could have imagined such things? That is precisely the reason this is such an important book. It has best-seller potential as well as the potential to accomplish the author's goal of inspiring child welfare service providers to examine more closely the homes where children suffer and to close up the cracks through which some children can and do fall.
The complex plot revolves around a teenage girl who witnesses her father beat her mother, then suffers through the death of her mother and the abuse of a sociopathic stepmother. She welcomes the chance to run away with a man three times her age who truly loves her. She becomes pregnant. Then she sees him indulge in a violent rage. Although this rage is directed toward someone else, it inspires painful memories and she runs back home where her stepmother comes up with a scheme to make money: sell the teen's child to a wealthy couple who have been unable to have a son and then sell the girl herself in marriage to a wealthy older man.
This almost unbelievable plot is described with insight that can only come from actual experience. The author demonstrates a true compassion for the older men who have their own tragedies to deal with and do truly love the young woman. Ultimately there is an ending as happy as a good person, who is struggling toward the light, can make.
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