Wednesday, March 21, 2012

#BookReview: Running from Solace - Nakia Laushaul

In this sometimes predictable and, at other times, jawdropping novel, Nakia Laushaul takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster with Running from Solace.  This is one of those books I stumbled upon on Amazon one day.  It's biggest selling factors were the price ($ 2.99) and the recommendation based on another book I'd purchased, which I can't remember now.  For $ 2.99, I certainly got my money's worth.

As a social worker, Naomi has seen her fair share of endangered children.  Growing up in less than desirable circumstances, Naomi understands what it's like to have a drug addicted mother and watch numerous men parade in and out of your house.  And while others may have grown a thick skin and blocked out the past, Naomi is still haunted by her childhood.  It's her past that allows her to connect with the kids she sees daily.  That past also keeps her from connecting to her husband.

When Naomi is called to remove a trio of children from their mother, she makes a connection with one of them, Xavier, and promises to be there for him and his siblings.  Her personal life proves to be a distraction, as she watches her churchgoing husband being seduced by the words and actions of a new female preacher, and she lets Xavier, his siblings and everyone around her down.  But Naomi is a survivor and eventually, with the help of a therapist and the love of her husband, she becomes the person she was always meant to be.

Laushaul does a good job of keeping readers in suspense.  Normally I can figure out the ending of a book before I get to it, but I was pleasantly surprised this time around.  It's easy to tell that the subjects approached in Running from Solace are near to the author's heart and she's determined to make you care just as much about her characters and their stories as she does.







276pp
Published: April 2011

 
Theme: No More Drama by Mary J. Blige

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