Is Charley crazy, delusional or dead?Follow her amazing, emotional journey and emerge into the battle with her nemesis – herself.This inspirational fantasy will take you into realms otherwise unknown, turning your world upside down while you’ll be wondering what is real and what is not. It’s an adventure, a mystery and an imaginative fairytale for adults.Gone was a story motivated by a true event. motivated by a true event.
Cover Design: Julie Elizabeth Powell
Source Photo: Angel Feather Wing by taeya18 (Free Digital Photos)
more
What an emotional ride in the true sense of the words. The journey of Charlie starts of at the present with the usual stress with work and life but after the first chapter it flips into a philosophical journey about facing ourselves and all the wrong paths humanity has taken. It was definitely a very pleasant surprise to read the depth of emotion that was placed on the pages with the well written words. It was a very emotional story about guilt, fear and life in general that we all deal with to some degree and I excitedly kept turning the pages to see how it will end. Noticing all the references to Alice in Wonderland, I was definitely intrigued. When I finished the last page and read why the story was written I couldn’t stop the tears. It is a brave way of dealing with a loss of a child and I admire the author for finding a way to express it. It is most definitely worth the read and I recommend it!
While reading Gone, I can’t help but think it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. From the first pages, we are introduced to a woman named Charley who has faced hard choices in life and, through a bizarre set of circumstances, she finds herself thrust into a limbo state which highlights the confusion of death, giving many examples of how humanity has chosen the wrong path, and expressing the author’s opinions on life in general. The first part of the story leaves you no doubt about Charley’s confusion and thinking she’s going crazy, a state we have all experienced throughout life.
My advice for the reader is to go to the back of the book and read the ‘About the Book’ and ‘About the Author’ sections before reading any of this story in order for you to fully appreciate the meaning behind it. I would have loved to get more of Charley’s story of the here and now beyond just the first chapter before she died so I could become more emotionally invested in her and really understand her reasons for being so upset with the world in general. Likewise at the end of the book, I could really relate to Charley’s change in attitude toward life and I would have loved to see how her life had blossomed because of her experience.
In retrospect, I can see this book was an emotional journal for the author, exploring the confusing time of her own life, and expressing it in a whimsical manner. As a freedom writing exercise, this book is the perfect example of dealing with a very painful part of life and finding an outlet to make sense of the unexplainable.
When Charley has a heart attack she is propelled into a sort of midway place rather than the afterlife. There she meets Jenny, the daughter she left on Earth as a helpless vegetable but this Jenny is the vibrant person Charley always imagined she might become if the accident hadn’t happened. This is very much about discovery and acceptance in a world of wonder and temptation. If Charley is to prevail, she must learn the life lessons she has so far avoided.
I found this to be a three Kleenex box read and to say it touched me deeply is an understatement. This is a book I would highly recommend.