Book Review

Blackbird: A childhood lost and found by Jennifer Lauck

I hate when I do this. I hate it when someone tells me, or I read about, some horrific childhood, and I'm like "Really? That was a cake walk compared to mine."

I never say it out loud-I know each persons definition of horrific is different-but I found out about this book from a website that listed it as a great story of overcoming horrible, horrible circumstances. So I was disappointed when I read her story and it wasn't as........horrific as I had led myself to believe. Then when she was returned to her family at the age of I believe 11-I kind of lost sympathy. What had she overcome at the age of 11? The hype I read surrounding this book did not match the story inside.

That being said, it is quite the tale, though I wonder how many of those details she actually remembered, and how many were embellished for the sake of the story. Which I guess is the mark of a good story teller?

I think part of my problem with this book is my own inability to remember details, and the writer's block I have regarding my own story. I tend to write like I talk-here is what I want to say, and that's it. To embellish my own story I would be totally making things up, and that's not what I want to do.

Anyway, it's not a bad story, and it's not at all badly written.