3 out of 4 stars
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Broken Child Mended Man is a non-fiction autobiography about the life journey of Adam Starks, Ph.D. Adam Starks went through many significant challenges as a child and young adult and managed to succeed in making a productive and happy life for himself and his family. This book recounts his journey from a malnourished, neglected child through to being taken from his home by children’s services and living with both interracial and same race foster families, to college and beginning life as a healthy and happy adult.
I found the book to be well written and the pace and timing were excellent. I felt involved in Adam’s story and continually wanting to find out what happened next. The journey moves from Burbank, California to rural Virginia and Adam spends several years in several locations, each with a different family and each with its own set of challenges, difficulties and opportunities.
The quotes used at the beginning of each section of the book are both inspirational and an excellent indication of the spirit of the author as he recounts his life journey with clear eyes and a continuing understanding of his own difficult journey. Adam Stark’s ability to tell his story as an almost impersonal observer but still include the feelings and emotions of his life is very impressive.
It is clear that Adam worked very hard to be fair and honest in his writing and he includes both the positives and negatives of his own past behaviors and choices as well as taking a reasonable look at the actions of those who had care of him. Adam provides an excellent message about not needing to be perfect but to keep going forward, learning as you go along, and working on being better the best way that you can. He shows that mistakes are learning opportunities and chances to grow and that often there are people in our community willing to help us succeed.
I did find figuring out who everyone was and following the timelines a little challenging at times. There was a fair bit of back and forth within the timelines of each section that was sometimes hard to keep up with. I also found it hard to keep track of names and ages of people/family in each section. Perhaps a more intentional introduction of each new family would be helpful as well as some more explanations along with the jumps in timeline.
I give Broken Child Mended Man 3 out of 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book; felt it was well written and that it had a great message. Even though I did not go through the same life challenges, many of the lessons Adam writes about are applicable to anyone in any life. Learning from your mistakes, learning to see yourself and those around you clearly (even if in hindsight) and taking responsibility for your own life while at the same time, taking comfort and help from the community around you are lessons for all of us. I didn’t give it a 4 because of the timeline and keeping track of who everyone was challenges, however, those who enjoy reading about people triumphing over a difficult early life and/or about people’s life journeys will really enjoy this book.
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Broken Child Mended Man
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