An invitation last week to meet with members of a local book
club resulted in excellent feedback for Jamie’s
Children, my most recently released novel (July, 2016).
This
was only my second book club meeting and it was great. The members were very
welcoming; there were a dozen
people present who had read and apparently enjoyed the book, and they had
excellent questions. We enjoyed a lively discussion for nearly two hours. I
loved sharing with them my reasons for writing the book, how I had created the
characters, and why I had chosen to deal with bipolar disorder through my
character Niall.
It was also great to hear that they enjoyed reading about the music in the book. It's a challenge to try to describe the emotions evoked by music, and knowing I succeeded encourages me to continue writing about it.
It
was a lovely evening and a confirmation that I had written a book which people
not only enjoyed reading, but which made them think. I don’t believe an author
can ask for more.
Earlier
that week I also received a new review which again was a confirmation that Jamie’s Children opens a door on a
subject which needs to be better understood, mental illness. Reviews are so
important to a writer. This one was thorough, but really, just a line or two
saying you enjoyed the book and/or found it meaningful is important.
(5 Stars) Beautiful Book Lighting the Darkened Corners of the Mind, February
20, 2017
By
This review is from: Jamie's Children (Paperback)
I was hesitant in reading this novel as it confronts in stark,
realistic detail, the mania, rock bottom and everything between of a major
depressive disorder. While the main characters struggle with several different
aspects of depression, anxiety and mania, the novel addresses all of the mental
health conditions with a subtle rawness of a skilled composer.
Jamie’s Children is a lovely novel about family, love and hope. It also shines a light on many of the dark corners we do not want to acknowledge. As a woman who has faced several different facets of depression from manic, to major, to suicide, with her immediate family, the descriptions of these debilitating diseases can at times be difficult to read. All of that being said, I would encourage anyone interested in understanding the meaning and depth of what is experienced by the person with any mental illness to read this book. While it supports the family it also reflects the struggles of living with someone experiencing mental illness.
While mental illness is a theme in the book, the savior of creativity in all forms, music, written, and observed is a good balance to the heaviness of the topic. Handled with reverence and love, Jamie’s Children is definitely a labor of love by author Susan Moore Jordan and I applaud her on a beautiful and inspiring story!
Jamie’s Children is a lovely novel about family, love and hope. It also shines a light on many of the dark corners we do not want to acknowledge. As a woman who has faced several different facets of depression from manic, to major, to suicide, with her immediate family, the descriptions of these debilitating diseases can at times be difficult to read. All of that being said, I would encourage anyone interested in understanding the meaning and depth of what is experienced by the person with any mental illness to read this book. While it supports the family it also reflects the struggles of living with someone experiencing mental illness.
While mental illness is a theme in the book, the savior of creativity in all forms, music, written, and observed is a good balance to the heaviness of the topic. Handled with reverence and love, Jamie’s Children is definitely a labor of love by author Susan Moore Jordan and I applaud her on a beautiful and inspiring story!
Jamie’s Children is available on Amazon,
paperback and Kindle, and the print edition is on sale at the Pocono Cinema and
Cultural Center whenever the theater is open.
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