Book Review Facing Demons by Ashley Sanders

Book Review

Facing Demons

by Ashley Sanders

About the Author



My name is Ashley Sanders, and I currently reside in Adelaide, South Australia where I was born and raised. I have a Bachelor Degree in Health Sciences and have worked as a Paramedic for three years. I have always had a creative spirit and my imagination takes me on journeys so captivating I write them down in order to share my stories with the world.  Writing young adult, I am now working on character prequels for Facing Demons.

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Book Description

Emotive, confronting and dramatic, Facing Demons, a novel by Ashley Sanders will have you hooked from page one and take you on an adventure while uncovering many issues adolescents often struggle to deal with.

Facing Demons follows the incredible journeys of four young individuals as they tackle their many and diverse problems whilst at the Anchor Beach Rehabilitation Clinic. The facilitator, Blake Solomon has succeeded in his own battle with cancer and feels obliged to pass on this second chance to those less fortunate.

The first person views of each of the four main characters - Felicity, Jason, Matthew and Rebecca - gives vital insight into their developing minds and conflicting ideals. One by one they are each able to tell their heart-wrenching stories of lives tainted by drugs, alcohol, self-harm, abuse, gangs, child prostitution and homelessness. Reaching beyond the depths of despair, where all hope seems lost, the four teenagers find ways to face their demons.

 

Our Review

A thought provoking novel which will touch every human emotion possible.  You will laugh, cry, feel humility and despair as you read each of the characters individual stories.

When we are faced in our everyday life by people who are high on drugs, very angry or to the other extreme withdrawn, reading this book could change your perception of that person.

The book teaches us that behind every heartache lies a reason and if we took the time to listen and learn the persons story, this could fulfil our lives by being gentle, kind as well as understanding.

As you go through the book each of their stories are revealed in stages, making you think of how you would react to listening to those harrowing stories.  The author is very clever with this and brings each feeling to light and as the four main characters listen they realise that through releasing their worries they can really gain strength, especially telling their story to someone who understands.

Our characters - Matthew - The refugee who ends up on the street reveals his harrowing story, will the others understand? - Jason - A gang member or hard boy who cannot take a backward step or this will show weakness, can the tasks set for him change him? - Felicity - Who just wants to be loved but her story is a tragic one, can the others help her to overcome her tragedy? - Rebecca - She has been passed from foster home to foster home, used and abused, can she change her ways? All four characters experience near death experiences which bring them to the retreat.

Four lost souls all want one thing, a family, a sense of belonging.  I haven't discussed the characters stories as not wanting to give the reader any pre-conceived ideas.  This book has to be read for the reader to make up their own minds.

Our Rating

Available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com