My thoughts
A favorite author of mine. This book is such a good one. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Catherine Ryan Hyde always gives you something to think about and makes you shed lots of tears. I've read so many of her books and will continue too.
There are a few characters that you will love. Each has a story. Tim is the janitor and has always been stick thin. He hates how he looks. Rex, who is 103 years old, was an olympic silver medalist during Hitler's reign. At the start of it. Rex was only fifteen at that time. Tanya is the mother of five and has a lot to say also. Madeleine is an older women who had a double mastectomy and whom Michael has a fling with. Then there is the professor who started it all, Robert Dunning. He is the professor of Michael's film class he's taking. The one who has scars of his own. Very visible scars that he calls attention to the first day. He refuses to hide them. Michael has scars too. He's kept them hidden though. He was afraid of people's reaction. Until he met Mr Dunning...
This book takes you through each of the of each people lives I named. How they came to meet Michael and how he interacted with each. Though he really only met them briefly they all left a huge imprint on his life. Made him into the adult and husband he was to be.
Michael is raised from age eight up by his adoptive parents. They were his foster parents and they loved him so unconditionally and adopted him. His birth parents gave them full freedom to do so. It hurt Michael and he felt like it was because of what happened to him. He loved his adoptive parents unconditionally also. He didn't want to see his birth parents ever. Michael had a good life. He was loved and loved his parents.
You find out everything about what happened to Michael and each of the people he interviewed and why he did this interview. How it developed and ended. All you need is there. No questions left unanswered.
This is a very emotional story that had me weeping in parts. You just never know what scars a person is carrying. Be wary of judgement as it could be something that can't be helped.
Thank you #NetGalley, #LakeUnion, #Brillance, for this ARC.
About
A film student struggling with self-acceptance finally stops looking away from his traumatic past in a powerful novel by New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde.
Michael Woodbine was seven years old when a near-fatal fireworks accident scarred him and led to his placement in foster care. Now a college freshman, he is still trying to hide the effects of his trauma from his classmates, his adoptive family, and himself.
When Michael signs up for a film class, he meets Robert Dunning, a teacher who wears his own scars unapologetically. Robert encourages Michael to make a documentary that explores body image and self-perception. Michael places an ad seeking people who feel unattractive and rejected by society—and is surprised to learn that this is essentially everyone. Although some participants are recovering from injuries or surgeries, others are dealing with more everyday factors like aging or the changes to a body from giving birth.
As he collects these stories—and finally tells his own—Michael feels more connected to the world than he ever has before. But he knows his journey of self-acceptance has one more obstacle: his crushing doubts about why his birth parents wouldn’t fight to keep him.
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