Born Special

by Rhea B. Woodruff

My name is Rhea Woodruff. I am 40 years old. I live in Belle Chasse, La. I am raised in a military family that moved every 4 years. I am married to a wonderful man. I have been blessed with a miracle baby Melanie rose. I am also a inspiring memoir writer that published my second memoir born special this month.
I love writing memoirs about my life experiences. I hope to inspire my readers and my books are for all readers of all ages. I love reading books that inspire you.

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2014

Reviews

[Destiny Rose READS · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir for the heart. The journey through life is never an easy one, but Rhea Woodruff proves that overcoming obstacles takes determination and a special heart. I was impressed with her positive attitude about people and life. Rhea spends her youth and young adulthood searching for love. There were so many people in her life that seemed to take advantage of her kindness. I has pleased that this memoir had such a happy ending.

Rhea learns at an early age that getting attention from boys makes her feel good about herself. Self-confidence comes whenever she finds someone to love. But so many of these relationships were not healthy for her, bringing a lifestyle that did not have her best interests in mind. It is this struggle to find something real that keeps Rhea searching. I was proud of her for standing up for herself in an alcoholic marriage and for having the courage to start over again. It was wonderful to read about Rhea finally finding the one man who loved her by heart. Having a happy marriage and a family is her dream come true.

[Tonya Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am someone who has not always had proper encouragement to succeed in my lifetime pursuits. I spent many years putting my own personal happiness on the backburner and received nothing in return for my selfless efforts. Here I am 47 years old, divorced and unemployed desiring to make it as a published author and future publisher. I love that there is a book with which I can read that will inspire me to do well when I now have no other choice but too! However, I cannot fathom the mere thought of doing anything else with my life besides write and publish. I love having a lot of friends who are authors and other people in the literary field. I have so much to learn and benefit from them. I learn new things everyday. I believe this is a memoir that will reach a lot of people out there who just need that extra boost of encouragement and inspiration from someone who is already there.

[Brenda Perlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Born Special by Rhea B. Woodruff is an endearing coming-of- age memoir about a young girl just trying to find her way in life. I like her honest down home style of writing. It was easy to get absorbed into this young woman's life. It doesn't take long to see that this girl is special and I think that is what makes this story even more enthralling.

I give the author credit for her openness and honesty. She talks to you like a long lost friend making it easy to get emotionally involved in the story.
This account moved me and touched my heart. Written from the depth of the authors soul I understand the accomplishment she must feel.

I know no matter who we are or what we come from we all want to feel normal. We want to fit in which is not always easy to do. I give this author credit for sharing her slice of life and being out there, so to speak. We all deserve a voice and to be understood.

Quote ~

The future me is way more interesting than the real me- the me who remains firmly stuck in the past, knee deep in the tragedy of my parents' death. The plane crash that took them from me was their first exercise in excitement - and the last time I truely took my dreams seriously. The moment of risk taking ultimately ended their lives forever stalled mine, leaving me adrift in a going nowhere existence.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a heartfelt memoir written by a woman whose main goal was to overcome the hurdles of life and build a life for herself that she could be proud of.

While reading Rhea’s story I had some difficulty following along with the time frame, it made it a bit hard at times to know exactly where and when I had found myself in her life. With that being said, this is a woman that has struggled and advanced through life while dealing with the hardships of a learning disability.

Some of this book was heartbreaking and yet it told a tale of a woman of great strength and belief in herself. Rhea goes on to detail some of the important details of her life and how she has achieved some of her most important goals, becoming a wife, mother, and a published author.

If I could give any advice to this author is in the editing, if the disability this wonderful woman had been named, if not detailed, it would have been much easier to understand where the mind of our author was at while writing this book. Also if the timeline had been just a tad more consistent that would be greatly helpful.

All in all, I think Rhea did what she set out to do in this book. She highlight highs and lows, losses and happiness throughout her life to share her independent qualities and her drive to have a successful life. Great job Rhea!

[Chasity Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhea’s story about the life she has lived is very inspirational. She’s lived a tough life and that really shows in her memoir of explaining what she’s been through. Her story is especially inspirational for young girls and how they end up tricked into having sex or believing it is the right thing to do in a relationship. Young girls can learn from Rhea’s experience with bad guys and learn a valuable lesson from this.

My biggest turn-off is the fact that so much sex was talked about. Normally I wouldn’t be able to continue reading a book that talked about sex as often as Rhea did. But the rest of the memoir was inspirational enough to compel me to keep on reading. There was also a lot of skipping around that left me confused at times. Sometimes I was unsure if Rhea was talking about something happening at that moment or something that had already happened. Which meant having to re-read a few portions to really understand what was going on.

I’m very happy that Rhea has found the love of her life and that she now has a beautiful baby girl. And I hope they have a long and happy life together. I also hope that her daughter doesn’t go through some of the things she went through and that her daughter can learn from Born Special.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Born Special is a very inspiring memoir by Rhea B. Woodruff. I enjoyed reading the stories of Rhea's past and the struggles she overcame. This book will help you see that no matter what life throws at you, you can overcome it if you try hard enough. Never give up on anything and stay positive was the attitude of Rhea in this book. This is a book for all memoir lovers.

[Tammie Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I think all little girls dream of falling in love with the perfect boy and getting married, having a family. But most don't realize it takes a couple toads to find their Prince. If you enjoy books along those lines with life problems, happiness and sadness this is it. It has a story that a lot of us can relate to either personally or from being beside someone who lives it.

[Rhea Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read the book. I was amazed by everything. Its very inspiring to readers. It took me 2 hours to read and I have read it three times already.

[Christine Hatfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book I've ever read