I LOVED THIS BOOK!! Sarah Ann Walker has trumped herself, and I honestly didn't think she could.
I am HER... was a kind of forever book, an absolute stand alone, I thought. Actually, if you had asked me, I would have said I wanted it to be a stand alone. There was something about I am HER... which just stuns and haunts a reader forever. And if you are anything like me, that is what you want a good book to do.
So, when I learned there was a sequel, I was both excited and saddened. I wanted more obviously, but I really felt the power of IAH was the fact that it hurt and haunted, and was so explicitly written as to never be duplicated or followed. How could it be? IAH is a stunning masterpiece which left me enthralled, engrossed, enlightened, and stunned by its horrifically beautiful honesty.
And now we are given 'THIS is me...' another unbelievable work of fiction. I find myself wanting to copy and paste my review for I am HER... but I don't want to cheat this book. This book is stunning all on its own, and it deserves to be heralded for its own unique power to enthrall and heal.
The characters are back, the same, but different. The emotions are back, the same, yet different. The agony is back, similar, but different.
We see Suzanne again, but she is a different woman. She is still flawed, still haunted, and still destroyed by the past that created her. She is still remarkable.
Sarah Ann Walker managed to create a flawed woman, bound by her past, not always sane, not always wise in her decisions, but absolutely engaging in her struggle. I found myself forgiving of all the bad choices and poor decisions she made because the story was told in a way that led the reader understand where exactly Suzanne was coming from- WHY she thought these decisions were for the best. Sarah didn't hide Suzanne, nor did she make her always likable to appease a greater audience. Sarah made Suzanne 'real' within her struggle.
I believe it is this honesty which Sarah Ann Walker gave the character Suzanne, which will make this a story no one will be able to forget. She speaks for Suzanne as we all really do, behind closed doors, or even within our own minds. We are not always perfect, though we like to project the image of perfection for others, and we are not always rational when hardships befall us. Suzanne certainly wasn't. But she tried.
When Suzanne finally realized
"This is not my shit. This was just a life of agony for me, in a place of insanity" I wept.
Finally, for Suzanne it became clear. Finally, she had the building blocks needed to move forward. In life this can take years for a patient who has suffered sexual abuse to understand. It can take years before the victim is able to clearly see their abuse as it really was. And it was NOT their shit.
And so we are faced with the final tragedy. And we are embraced by Z. His pain is tangible in this story. I do not believe there is a woman alive who wouldn't grab hold of him and ease his suffering if she could. He is the perfect compliment to Suzanne. He is strong when it is needed, but he can cry out when tragedy grips him. He asks nothing of Suzanne except to be honestly given "The good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful" And that is what this story is.
This story is poetic, beautiful, horrific, and if nothing else- it is REAL. It is heavy and awkward, and it requires a reader to think logically, and often illogically, until the final moments allow for an exhale. The author was right- "This life has been an absolute agony", and she managed to portray that agony with a beautiful collection of pain and salvation in print.
I feel as though I will look back at this review and I will amend it. I can already feel a piece of me crying out to express my thoughts as beautifully as Sarah Ann Walker did. She is a gifted writer with an uncanny ability to make the reader feel exactly what is required when it is required. And as I've said before, I am a fan, and I will watch each and every story she chooses to tell us.