Take Me to Nirvana

by J.Y. Barris

Nothing is as it seems when Tom hires a mysterious woman to work at his shop. After he loses contact with her, their brief bond eventually leads him to set out with his detective brother to find her…

Take Me To Nirvana is a beautifully crafted novel that celebrates hope and courage. It is a raw, powerful story that follows the sudden disappearance of Amber, a young woman struggling to reconcile a haunting past with her new chance at a normal life. The book delves deep into her troubled mind, and the strange, sometimes gruesome challenges she faces in finding closure.


A Psychological Novel Raising Awareness of Childhood Abuse

In 2020 in the USA, over *7 million children were subject to childhood abuse. In over 90 percent of cases, at least one parent was involved. Take Me To Nirvana aims to throw light on the high prevalence of parent-initiated abuse in the USA and help victims find a route forward to healing and happiness.

Genres: Mystery

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2023

Reviews

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I would love this book, but I didn't know how much. I can openly say that January 10th was the best day so far this year, since it is the day this book arrived to my Kindle. I fell in love even from the opening lines. The author begins "Take Me To Nirvana" with a dedication for the victims of child abuse:

This book is dedicated to every child abuse survivor. Sorry if life has been a massive lemon but thank you for trying your best every day to turn it into a colorful lemonade. If you are still haunted by your childhood trauma, let Nirvana carry your sorrow as I hope you find peace within yourself after reading this book in its entirety.

To describe it in few words, Tom Ager hires Amber Simmons to help him organize the activities for his plumbing business. The young woman seems desperate for some help and appears to be looking for a fresh start. Amber's mysterious life intrigues Tom, so when one day she fails to show up for work, he starts investigating her disappearance. An entire bunch of characters becomes involved, each following their own interest. At the same time, our female main character looks for her own stability and purpose in life.

What is important to mention from the beginning is that there are no perfect characters. All are perfectly flawed, and their flaws actually become helpful at one point in the story. Each plays a role, each falls in like a fitted puzzle piece. So, while there are characters with mental health issues, there are also characters whose personalities may, apparently at least, hinder them to reach a certain goals or social status. We have Tom – a business owner, but unable to have a romantic relationship, Gabe – an apparently carefree guy, working a job just for the income while dreaming of becoming a rockstar, Tom’s brother – looking for professional recognition. Then there is a psychologist, whose sole purpose is to see her patients finally having a shot at life, or even Amber’s strange “sister”. In her own mind, she looks for happiness, in a twisted way.

Characters aside, what is made loud and clear is how much abuse can mess up one's ability to cope with reality; how much a healthy support system can straighten the child, or teenager or adult. There is this immense power in all of us, but sometimes we need signs or guides to learn how to let it loose Therapy, a good therapist, is more than important in this journey and I like how the author presented the relationship between patient and doctor. This book is so perfectly built, I am at a loss of words!

“Take Me to Nirvana” is not just about finding a lost woman. It is about finding that place of happiness, or at least a comfortable level of satisfaction. It is about navigating the tumultuous waters of this life and learning to make camp somewhere, setting up roots. There are so many reasons why this book should be read, and I would make this review incredibly long to speak about all. But, to summarize, J. Y. Barris tells a story with so much to learn from. Her message is loud, clear, important and helpful at the same time, as stated by her in the preface:

My mission with “Take Me to Nirvana” is to write something that gives hope to people affected by childhood trauma and to raise awareness of child abuse. I hope this book will provide them a sense of “you are not alone”, and that it will give them the courage to find their own peace and move beyond their past.

[Lena VanAusdle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. What a weird, weird, weird book. The premise is interesting: A troubled young girl seeking redemption, but from what? A horrific family life led to devastating repercussions for this young girl, can she move past it?

But the dialogue and the story is told in such a stilted manner, it was hard to take the story seriously. Sometimes it was just nonsense: “Brown fixed up his shirt, meanwhile carrying on to make his own sense.” I know all the words employed in the sentence, but they certainly don’t convey a coherent thought.

[Kelsey Duro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take Me to Nirvana is based upon a woman’s life after living with abusive parents growing up. Nirvana tries to start her life over once being released from a mental institution due to the severe trauma she faced as a child. She changes her name and seeks a job at a local plumbing company run by Tom Ager. Tom hires “Amber Simmons” and becomes enamored by her almost immediately. He seeks out a relationship with her until one day, she doesn’t show up to work. After trying to reach her for several days, he decides to go in search of her to make sure she is okay. With the help of Tom’s investigator brother, Mark, they trace Amber down and find out who she really is.
Nirvana had been drug back into her past by the only companion she had growing up, Jo. Jo is in love with Nirvana and does everything she can to get her to love her back. On Tom and Mark’s search for Nirvana they end up at her old childhood home and stumble upon a cellar where Nirvana was being held hostage by Jo.
Tom rescues Nirvana and visits her in the hospital as she recovers. He shares his affection for her and wishes to help Nirvana get a real fresh start.
This book deals with very sensitive and heartbreaking situations and how those traumas can impact you throughout your life. Overall, I enjoyed this book, I gave it three stars because I did feel that the story was a little hard to follow at times and some of the writing was a bit awkward.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not easy to review as initially I found it difficult to maintain interest as to me the story seemed a bit jumbled and without a real direction. I however continued reading as the book’s published storyline had attracted my attention and there did seem to be something yet to be revealed which I hoped that once unveiled would provide some clarity. The story did hit the mark as it moved toward its ending as the needed clarity came through. 3.5 star story

My thanks to the sponsors of the book’s goodreads giveaway for the opportunity to obtain and read a copy of this book.

[Leeann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming

I tend to not look at any reviews about a book before I read it, preferring to just let my mind wander as the story unfolds. Sadly as with many, I was a multi abused child, I could identify with many things in this book. I felt like there was a lot of wisdom in the words, loved tucking those away for reference. Such an awesome story to see Nirvana rise above and start to see the light. In spite of some of the horrible characters in this book, there are still lessons to be learned. I will definitely be recommending this to friends.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story has some dark and intense content. And at the beginning of the book I found myself intrigued with the story that was unfolding. And then things started feeling jumbled. There were time jumps that happened with no warning and although it wasn't difficult to realize this happened it just made the story feel choppy and disjointed. And there were parts that were somewhat confusing and each time it felt like I was missing something (I even re-read sections) but I wasn't. This book just didn't work for me. It had some interesting parts but the rest was disjointed and somewhat dull.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

When mysterious yet attractive young woman goes to work for a plumbing concern, she evokes a lot of interest in the workers. When she disappears, the hapless owner of the firm looks for her.

Everybody in the book is looking for something, but doesn't really know how to go about obtaining their desire.

I felt like the book loses its way in the middle for a while.

[Kaylen Trejo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not going to lie. I was very confused throughout several portions of this book. There’s some time jumping that isn’t spelled out very clearly, but once you realize what’s going on, it’s easy to get back into the story. There were also a couple of twists and turns I didn’t see coming that set off lightbulbs in my head like, ohhhh so that’s what’s happening. I enjoyed the book overall.

[Denisele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in w giveaway. It was a fast read. I'm not sure if it was an advanced reader copy, but there were several times when some editing was needed. The characters were pretty exaggerated. And I'm still not sure about the conversation with the reverend. There were some other comments that felt a little preachy to me about various topics too...

[George Stenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very tragic and sad book about the impact of child about by both of her parents. Nirvana was institutionalized as a result of the horrible abuse by her parents. A compelling book that is very difficult to read at times.

Highly recommended.

[Patricia Hampton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Goodreads giveaway for this book I won. Like the beginning says very difficult subjects but does have a good ending.

[Tanya Dreke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a digital copy from Goodreads Giveaways. Good book - powerful story.

[Samuel White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

Good story of of resilience in the face of lots of trauma. A quick and easy read with a somewhat happy ending.

[Mattison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you J.Y. Barris for the giveaway.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I did think there were some confusing moments, but in the end I thought it was a good representation of trauma and healing

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.