Review: Three Rules by Marie Drake

[hollynewhouse]

Review of Three Rules by Marie Drake - April 24, 2015

Reviewed by Author Holly Newhouse

The author Marie Drake lives in a small town near Lake Ontario with her husband and children. She is an admirable and inspirational person being a foster parent takes a special kind of person and being a survivor of abuse, I have a feeling she has overcome and broken the cycle within her life and that in itself is extremely admirable. I too am a survivor of Domestic Violence that ended with my two year old twins and myself being shot and barely survived at the hands of my ex-husband and a survivor of rape at 16 years old by a man I looked up to as a big brother. My own journey was long and hard and while I have never been a child abuse victim like Hope was in the story, everything she feels, contemplates, agonizes over and discovers about herself through the course of the story was eerily similar to my own journey to reaching the status of survivor and was like replaying my own past. I too overcame everything that happened to me in my life and am now an activist, marriage and family therapist, and victim traumatologist, trying to help juries to understand that when a victim testifies, they may not act in a way that the jury considers to be stereotypical of a victim and why that is.

Three rules has been written from a place within the heart and soul of our author, this reviewer can see that as plain as day from my own experiences. I deeply commend Marie Drake for using the unique prose that not only conveys the depth of the complexity, abuse victims and survivors go through but in a way that those who have never experienced it can understand as well. For those of us who have, the story can be a big trigger to our own past abuse but it can also be incredibly freeing as we go through the story with Hope and when I say freeing, for me it meant feeling joy over another survivor being able to overcome her abuser's hold on her past, present and future as well as his hold on her memories, emotional and mental states of mind and speaking out to others about it. It reminds me of my own journey and how my steps were similar to Hope's. It is never over for the victim or the survivor, not really. There is no cure all that makes the abuse go away but, with time, love, and a great network of support and respect, it becomes bearable to live with and frees the soul to the point of being able to feel again and most importantly feel happiness in life once again and for the survivor, to find him or herself again as well. Thanks to my past experiences, my training and my profession, I was able to read between the lines and read deeper into the meaning of Hope's story as it might relate to the author as a survivor herself of abuse and was able to do so. I highly admire and commend Author Marie Drake for tackling a very complex issue that is clearly not as black and white as society wants to believe and she tackles it in such a way to not only bring awareness to it but helps others gain to understand that very complexity. I could clearly see just how much of her very soul the author put into the writing of this magnificent fiction story full of suspense and twists and turns the reader won't see coming until it smacks them in the face and I also pray the writing of this story also helped the author to free her own soul a bit as well.

The story is well-written, descriptive in such a way as to give enough for the reader to understand but, not overmuch and leaves the reader to use their imagination and engages them in such a way as to drawn them right into Hope's world and make them believe they are seeing a movie and no longer reading a book and that in itself is an exceptional and natural born talent that many authors struggle to accomplish but for Drake, it seems to come naturally to her. She walks the fine line brilliantly between realism and fiction. The plot and character development are exceptional and the story flows smoothly throughout with it speeding up in some places and slowing back down to some places which also contributes to its ability to hook the reader and keep them hooked in the story until the very end. I was hooked from the first paragraph until the very end. I was drawn to the book especially because it was written by a survivor sister. I want to personally thank Author Marie Drake for her amazing story that is fiction but realistic enough that it could be happening to someone we all know and don't have any idea is happening to them without knowing what signs to look for. I will be recommending this book to my huge network of survivor brothers and sisters so they can experience the twists and turns and the heart breaking story with its empowering ending. I applaud your excellent ability in writing a terrific story and to make it beautifully profound, my survivor sister. God Bless you always and keep you safe from harm forever more.

******Disclosure of Material Connection****** I received a free copy of this book from the author, Marie Drake through Inkspand. I was not required to provide a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16CFR, Part 255.

Marie Drake
Three Rules
Red Bird Digital, 3rd Edition
288 pp. $0.99 on Amazon Kindle and $12.41 on Paperback