Pat Spencer – Author
Amazon – $7.99 ebook/$18.99 paperback – https://rb.gy/gy6ljc
MY BOOK REVIEW
You will never be completely prepared for this story. It’s not written with flowery prose or with an uppity flare. It’s written as intended, with a common air … from a child’s point of view, although not completely … unfolding a tale about common people who want to survive their circumstances and determined to do just about anything to accomplish their goal. But when you’re nine-years-old and left to not only fend for yourself but also for your three siblings while two older ones have all but abandoned you, there’s a desperation hooked inside your soul that won’t let go. Without that hook buried deep, the only thing left to do is die.
Remnants of this Irish family survived and the lessons they will leave within the pages of this book will haunt you for the rest of your life. Each time you think you can’t make it—whether you’re suffering a deadly illness, been abandoned, struggling through poverty, or nasty gossip—you will think of the Ryan family.
It was extremely difficult to stop in the middle of this book, so I didn’t. I couldn’t. Though I thought Pat could have done a better job transitioning most of the scenes, the way it is written wastes no time threading you through the hardships that unfold.
When you buy this book, dedicate the whole day to it. There will be moments when you’ll need to take time to breathe … gather yourself … and for most of you, time to realize it’s not happening to you. Again. Don’t stop until you reach the end. Because it is there, where the light separates the darkness, where you will see sunlight overwhelming the horizon.
It’s not often I recommend books. On my website, you will usually find links to videos and recommendations to reference materials. But it’s rare to hear me say, “This book is good.” And Boxty, as I affectionately call it, is a good book.
Maybe it’s through the lens of my own trauma that I can appreciate what this character and her family went through. Perhaps it’s the trauma I feel all over again every time I see the news. Or just maybe it’s because I want so badly for people to do what’s right. Whatever the case may be, Pat Spencer took me on her mother’s journey and opened me up to a new way of looking at my circumstances, past and present.
This book solidified my ambitious need to be and do better–especially since it’s the beginning of a new year, to be a better example to those around me so I can make peace with what I leave behind. I am also gripped by the fact that we are all, indeed, the same … searching for hope … believing in the Holy One, whether we refer to him in this manner or not, the truth remains — we do search for Him … and we’re always engaged in a frantic search to share our lives with someone.
Among the pages of this book, I was able to experience the prejudice against them without the author screaming and yelling at me about the color of their skin, their intellect, their dialogue or slang, void of name-calling out of retaliation. And more importantly, I walked with this family as they rose again and again to pick themselves up and try again, albeit another route. To go through so much heartache without wanting to return to places and show off your new-found dignity is astounding.
Every person in every nation has been slighted, enslaved, or manipulated and robbed. Golden Boxty in the Frypan proves none of us are immune. But what it also proves is everyone in every nation can also rise above the darkness. There, where the sunlight and darkness divide is a measure of hope free to us all. And like the main character in this book, if you focus on God and the hope he offers, you shall rise as the darkness falls.
Enjoy the read. It will linger within your soul for a long time after …
Donna B. Comeaux
Author
Thank you, Donna. Your words touched me deeply. I am honored.
And I will take a look at those transitions. I do tend to be what they call a “sparce” writer, one who likes to cull every word she deems unnecessary. Maybe I can go a bit easier on the delete key while I’m editing. 🙂