Into the Free: A Novel - eBook
4.3
5
15
15
Exceptional read
The bottom line: I have no recollection of being so powerfully moved by written words in my lifetime.
I read the first four chapters after a long day at the office, when I greatly desired only to sleep. I forced myself to put the book away, only after awakening my bride to share a few passages with her. I rationalized savoring the experience, meting out only a few chapters a night. Instead, I finished the book. I cried no less than three times. I stopped to get into the floor and play with my kid, tears in my eyes, and to hold him- telling him that I love him. Mrs. Cantrell's Millie Reynolds represents to me hundreds of victims of domestic abuse/neglect and child witnesses of domestic violence that have streamed through my office seeking therapeutic services. My tears and anguish for Millie are the tears I've never let myself cry for them- the depth of pain that I felt here something professional boundaries limit me from in my practice.
Julie writes with an authenticity and genuineness that perfectly captures the experience of many children who grow up in violent homes. Millie's growth from child to late adolescent in the book tracks perfectly with the psychologic development of kids in her position. I've developed workshops and delivered countless trainings in this particular subject area. With Into the Free, I could instead take a front row seat in Julie's classroom, witnessing firsthand, transfixed, the personification of everything I've ever learned from my clients about their experience. One of my favorite professors described empathy as walking with our clients, trying to understand their experience. With the characters in this book, I was able to walk a mile in their shoes- wanting desperately to flee from the text, but unable to abandon the young protagonist when she was so desperately alone.
I am considering making this book required reading for a class that I teach at a local university. There is no better way to experience the journey of so many of the people we work with. For those blessed to never live in Millie's circumstance, it offers insight into the human condition. For those who have or still do, it may offer some roadmap to healing their own invisible wounds.
This is an outstanding read, its characters complex and evolving. It is easy to love young Millie Reynolds, to be afraid for her, to cheer for her, to want to hold her tightly until the storms in her life pass. The reader is treated to an age-accurate view of the world that matures as Millie does- from a dichotomous perspective that categorizes people as good or bad, to one more accurately reflecting the people that we all are- significantly more than can be described with a few adjectives.
Buy this book- the publisher guarantees to credit your purchase price if you don't believe it worth the time most will certainly invest into it. My warning: don't buy it if you are afraid to connect with the protagonist at a visceral level. I don't suspect many will read the book without going through a spectrum of emotions.
May 1, 2013
Not a Christian book
Load a shotgun with prayer and aim at a story. Pull the trigger and pepper the pages with prayer. That's the only way Into the Free can be categorized as Christian. I absolutely hated that I bought this book and wasted my money on something that rates up there with the NYT's bestsellers that contain erotica and language. Did this have bad language, no. Erotica? Borderline. At the end, the description of the rape scene was borderline graphic! Appalling that any Christian book seller would pass this off as a wonderfully written Christian book! I don't need to know that he opened her dress, or that his weight was upon her, or that he called out her mother's name three times. I didn't need to know that he stood and fastened his pants! Hint at the scene, show the shame or the denial afterwards. DON'T give me details because I do not want that image stuck in my mind, but thank you, Ms. Cantrell. When I see your title, my mind replays the rape scene vividly, no matter how hard I try to push it from my memory.
I will not recommend your book to anyone, nor read another. You used eloquent words and you have a gift, but you marred it by compromising to the world's ways.
May 27, 2012
A powerful story of forgiveness & renewed strength
Into the Free by Julie Cantrell is a compelling read which will have you crying out for someone to help young Millie before all hope is destroyed. Her real name is Millicent, a name her abusive father believes aptly describes her because, in his eyes, she isnâÂÂt even worth a cent. Throughout her childhood, Millie will live in fear of the days his truck will speed up the drive, meaning heâÂÂs back from the rodeo, and if her mother is in one of her âÂÂdark spells,â soon JackâÂÂs anger will explode in violence. The young girlâÂÂs stability and protection seems to come from their neighbor, Sloth, and her hiding place in the sweet gum tree. Then Sloth dies, her mother slips further and further into the pain numbing world of drugs, and Millicent grows up feeling isolated and hopeless.
This book has so many contradictions between what is and what should be that you could talk about those oxymorons for hours. Her mother has been totally abandoned by her own parents, the Reverend and Mrs. Applewhite, even when they know how desperate her life is. Millie has always seen her father as a monster, but when she finally has the courage to follow him to the rodeo, she finds a man who is respected for his talent and who is liked for his good nature. How can the two be the same man? And her mother is the biggest oxymoron of all. She holds tight to her faith in God, can quote almost any Bible verse, yet she buries all her pain with the shot of the needle, leaving Millicent to tread alone. Then later in the story, when sixteen year old Millie is truly an orphan, her godly grandparents deny her, the goody-goodies of the town suspect her Choctaw heritage, and the upstanding banker who takes her into his family assaults her, leaving the young girl to question GodâÂÂs existence. She cries out to challenge Him and to rant against His absence, especially after her brutal attack. But the destructive forces cannot defeat Millicent and sheâÂÂll find GodâÂÂs true presence as she accepts offers of unconditional love and comes to understand the power of forgiveness which delivers her Into the Free. Julie CantrellâÂÂs website includes insightful discussion questions, ones to be considered even if you read the book alone and not with a book club. Cantrell does include a spoiler alert to not read the discussion questions before finishing the book. I welcome a Christian fiction writer who tackles tough topics, who does not sugar coat our faith, and who is willing to point out the destructive effects of those who hide behind empty beliefs. I hope Cantrell continues to write in this vein.
I received an advanced readers copy of this title for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own. I did not receive any compensation for this review.
March 8, 2012
READ THIS BOOK!!!!
This book was wonderfully written and kept me up at night! I could not put it down. It is an amazing book that everyone needs to read!!!
February 27, 2012
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