2 out of 4 stars
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I find memoirs to be informative as well as engaging. I enjoy learning about the world from another person’s point of view and about how they overcome struggles and celebrate victories. I eagerly selected Breathe... by P.L. Jons because it appeared to contain all these qualities and more.
Author P.L. Jons writes about being a single parent to a child with autism. She is honest and raw and doesn’t hold anything back. The narrative begins with the author, referring to herself as Crystal in this book, meeting her son’s father, Jacob. The two have a tumultuous relationship and it doesn’t get any better after they get married or when their son, Dylan, is born. The author comes from a dysfunctional family and the nuclear family she tries to create for herself isn’t any more stable. Instead of becoming a mature and responsible father, Jacob abuses his wife, cheats on her, and becomes a drug addict. However, Crystal is determined to build a healthy and positive life for herself and sets out as a single parent. As her son gets older, she notices he isn’t developing like other children and he’s diagnosed with autism. The story follows Crystal and Dylan as they make a life for themselves and deal with Dylan’s autism and the host of problematic situations the two keep finding themselves in.
This story had a lot to admire. The author’s toughness and dedication to her son is the thread that weaves throughout the entire book. As a parent, I was very inspired by how hard she fought for her son and how hard she worked to make his life safe and healthy. The two go through some major difficulties together but Crystal never gives up on her son. Typical troubles experienced by children and teens are amplified for Dylan due to his autism. The family also experiences some not-so-typical problems such as parental alienation, physical abuse, and drug trafficking in their apartment complex.
Unfortunately, this book had a lot of problems that were tough for me to reconcile. There were several editing issues including typographical errors, word-usage errors, and punctuation errors. While the author’s conversational writing style made the story approachable, at times it seemed almost casual to the point of not caring and there was a regular breakdown in sentence structure in the sections containing dialogue. There was an interesting and, at times, moving chapter where the author finds love again after breaking things off with Jacob. As intense and white-hot as this relationship is, the author defiantly refuses to write out her lover’s name, stating that it hurts too much to do so. This odd omission made the entire chapter difficult to read and became more annoying the more I read.
Another issue I had with this book is the lack of specifics given to describe Dylan’s condition. Some major life challenges, such as the loss of a loved one, being physically assaulted, and moving schools, were glossed over when it came to Dylan. I imagine as a parent of a special needs child, Crystal’s description of how her son handled these challenges would be infinitely appreciated by other parents in her shoes. The author really missed out on a golden opportunity to not only flesh out the story better, but help others in the special needs community.
I rated Breathe... 2 out of 4 stars. I appreciate the author’s honesty and bravery in telling her story. I do however wish she would have told us more regarding Dylan. At times the errors were distracting. Because of the subject matter, I would recommend this book to parents and educators of special needs children.
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Breathe...
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