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Caitlin is happily married to her best friend, has two healthy children, and enjoys a rewarding career and the love and support of her extended family. Her seemingly great life is marred by an obsessive fear that Caitlin can't shake. Having grown up with two schizophrenic parents, she is terrified with what may be in her DNA, and haunted with the knowledge she may have passed the genes to the disease that robbed her parents of their sanity down to her children.
MY REVIEW
I wasn't sure what I expected from this book when I began reading,it had crossed my mind it may be quite a depressing read. However I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a tale of mental illness and what affect it has on those who suffer from it and those who live with the sufferers too. I found myself smiling, laughing, sighing, and yes at a couple of points sobbing! There is a fair share of sadness and death in the book, but there are also uplifting parts that show how Caitlin learnt to cope with her relationships with those around her.
Caitlin endures a rather sad, disjointed upbringing where really her "parent" or the person she looks up to is her brother Jon, or Jondalor as their mother calls him. Their mother lives in her own fantasy world at times and thats where her childrens names come from, a fantasy book. Caitlin is originally called Ayla who is a female character in her mothers favourite book by Jean Auel. Her brother rescues her from this name as when she is born he cannot say Ayla and ends up calling her Ava.
When Ava "escapes" in her late teen years she changes her name to Caitlin, in her mind, its a fresh name to go with the fresh start she is trying to make. Caitlin goes through a lot of torment in her life, and all the while wondering if one day she may succumb to the same illness that has claimed those surrounding her.
Caitlin does have some great supportive family....I am not going to go into the story as I think you need to read and discover what happens and how and why things happen for yourselves as the readers. I also want to add that I think the cove depicts the book and the relationship between Caitlin and Jon extremely well, I imagine it to be the two of them holding hands when Jon is taking Caitlin to school.
Did I enjoy the book? Yes, it could have been a totally true life tale. Would I recommend it? Yes, its a roller-coaster ride of emotions. Would I read more by this Author? Yes, this was so well written, I couldn't wait to pick it up and read the next part of it.
Available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk £3.19
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