Drawing Free
Author: Elena Aitken
Review Copy Provided by the Author
Description:
“What would happen if I just kept driving?”
Moms aren’t supposed to have a life of their own, at least that’s what Becca Thompson believes. Between dealing with her youngest’s never ending tantrums, her teenager’s attitude and her ailing father’s rapidly failing memory, Becca doesn’t have time to worry about who she used to be.
Deep down, Becca knows she wants more than the daily chaos and the quick fixes her self-help books have to offer, but when her husband starts demanding more, the pressure proves to be too much. On the way to pick up her daughter, she makes the split second decision to take a different exit off the freeway and drives towards the mountains leaving her crumbling life in the rear-view mirror.
Fleeing to a remote mountain town, Becca knows she must rediscover her spirit, even if reconnecting with herself comes at the expense of everything she left behind.
Review:
“I was so stuck on being what I thought I should be, that I couldn’t be who I needed to be. ~ Becca
This quote that appeared at the end of one of the final chapters really sums up what I thought about the book. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was going to think about it, because in all honestly, I didn’t have a lot in common with Becca, I don’t have kids, I’m not married, I’m relatively secure in where I am in my life (or at least I think I am). But it really made me think. Not just about her situation, but about life in general. How often do we make choices/decisions based on what we think we should, because of how society dictates we act, vice, how we want to act/want to do. And then there is the abundance of so-called “self-help” books that give you advice on how to make these decisions. But as it was explored in Drawing Free, sometimes they provide conflicting information, they often don’t take into account specific circumstances, and as with many things, one size (piece of advice) does not suit all.
There were a lot of life lessons that could be described as being in the story, primarily the reminder to live every day as if it were your last (or in the infamous words of Tim McGraw, live like you were dying). But also to remember that there is nothing wrong with trying to reach for your dreams, don’t fore-go them – but keep trying. I will say however, that I HATED the kids in the book – they drove me mental. I can safely say, that if I had ever behaved that way in public, or talked to my parents that way that I would have had my mouth washed out with soap and likely would have had my butt wholloped…but then, I grew up in the 1980’s when it was still kosher for kids to be spanked at times (but that is a story for another day).
However, Drawing Free did have a hot button topic for me which I kind of wish had been disclosed somewhere in the description – because there are people who find certain topics are no go’s – in this case it was cheating. I HATED what Becca did, in fact, up to that point, I liked her journey and the cheating just ruined her character for me…I didn’t feel like she regretted her actions, or even took responsibility for them. It also seemed like there was no resolution between Becca and her husband about what happened…the ending in general, sucked!! I was disappointed with how it all turned out…
It was primarily the ending that made me give it 3 stars. It there had been more of a resolution, it probably would have gotten 4 stars from me. But that being said, I hope that EA writes more books in the future – because I am curious to see what else she comes up with.
Composing Myself
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