The Sound of Gravel

I recently finished a memoir called, The Sound of Gravel.

                                             

Wow...

Now, I don't read on a regular basis and sometimes wish reading was something I enjoyed. However, this book had me at it's first page and I was able to finish it quickly.



Let me back track a bit.
I first heard about this book through another blogger, Emily A. Clark. Occasionally, Emily blogs about books she has read, gives a short synopsis about them, and will recommend them to her readers as she sees fit. Not too long ago she did this with 9 books she recently read. When I reached her description of, The Sound of Gravel, what she said about it stuck out to me. She says this about the book, "If you choose just one from my list to read, pick this one. This is the first book that ever prompted me to immediately email the author after finishing it."

Um, what? I had to know more of what this book was about!

Being that I respect this blogger and knowing that she has read lots and lots of books, I decided to head to the library to pick it up. 

I will give you a little bit of information about the book without giving away too much detail in case you are interested in it. Like mentioned before, this book is a memoir. It's about a girl named Ruth Wariner who grew up in a polygamist family in the 80's. From the get-go, it's easy to see that the character of this woman, who was a little girl at the time, is resilient and strong. She endures poverty, heartbreak, and tragedy. There were a few moments in the book that made me cry because of what she went through. It was all so hard to believe and very disheartening. A few times I even had to put the book down and walk away from it, even after just reading only a couple of pages. With all that she went through, I'm in awe of the strength and positive outlook she now has as an adult!!

It's seriously one to read...and if you are an avid reader, you could definitely finish this in a couple of days. But be warned, it does get a bit dark. It's very eye-opening, however, and very sad at the same time to know the things some kids endure.

Let me know if you have ever read this book before or are planning to read it now!