1 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Foretold: An Epic Spiritual Journey by Susan Smith Davis is a nonfiction novel that details the life of the author after she experiences two vivid dreams in young adulthood. Smith feels that these dreams are messages speaking to her of what is to come in her life. What follows is a journey in which Smith attempts to discern the meaning of these dreams and bring them to life.
The story begins with Susan discussing her engagement and subsequent marriage to her first husband. In this introduction she discusses the difference in religious beliefs between the two, but also discusses how she feels that both religions are the same at their core. The reader then follows along as Smith talks about her five children and the early years of her marriage, which lays a background for the introduction of the two dreams and how her life would change after those experiences.
Following these dreams, Smith sets out to make drastic changes in her life. She begins by telling her husband that she wants a divorce, and she then continues on to carve out a life for herself and her children. The author discusses her struggles with being a single mother, as well as the struggles she experienced while attempting to find her soulmate.
I must say that I was excited to read this book after reading the blurb listed for the book. However, upon reading the story I found that the brief description for this novel was misleading. I found that most of the novel was not really about a spiritual journey, but more about Smith’s journey to find friends and partners. The dreams are mentioned in detail when they occur, but only briefly mentioned in pieces later in the story. The book came across as a chronicling of one woman’s relationship history rather than her spiritual growth. The author does mention that she is growing spiritually as the result of several calls with a phone psychic, but does not share exactly how she is changing.
The hardest part for me while reading this novel was that I just could not identify with or sympathize with the author during her journey. While I understood why she didn’t want to be married any longer, I could not understand her actions after that. Some of her behaviors came across as selfish or obsessive and I could not understand her reactions in some situations. This made it really difficult for me to truly be invested in her journey.
I also found the author’s writing style to be distracting. There are times in the writing where the author seems to ramble on about different people that she meets at various karaoke events. The writing was unfocused, and I often had to read a passage more than once to understand who the author was discussing. In a few chapters it is hard to find a central point, and the timeline jumps forwards and backwards. There were several instances of run-on sentences and poorly placed punctuation marks, as well as a few spelling errors and words used incorrectly. Because of these errors and issues with the writing style, I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars.
******
Foretold: An Epic Spiritual Journey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like 1ditzyrn's review? Post a comment saying so!
