I'm Still Standing [Paperback]

Julia Booker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2009

My Life- My Struggles -My Story

On May 9, 1970 a young woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Her name was Erin Emily Baker, unbeknown to her; life won't be a bouquet of roses. The things she would endure into her adulthood would be nothing more than thorns that stick to your soul. The pain, heartaches, deceit and most of all the abuse!!! This a true story of what one woman went through and is still standing through it all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Outskirts Press (July 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1432742639
• ISBN-13: 978-1432742638
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,672,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Story of Abuse and Heartache, October 5, 2009

By 

Sarah Moore "Sarah" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm Still Standing (Paperback)

Books certainly have the ability to transport you into the lives of their characters, which may be a thrilling adventure, a terrifying experience, or something in between. A period piece can whisk the reader away to the royal courts in Europe or the frontiers of the Wild West. As you turn the pages of a science-fiction novel, you may be able to close your eyes and envision yourself exploring a new galaxy. And then, sometimes, there are those books that just hit you in the gut with raw emotion ... plain and simple. You are handed the heartbreak and pain that a supposedly fictional person is living and the feelings could not be more real. Such is the case with the first release by author Julia Booker, entitled I'm Still Standing. The gripping story shared within its pages will affect you long after the final words are read.

I'm Still Standing tells the story, primarily, of a mother and daughter who find themselves caught in lives of constant abuse. Jenny Baker gives birth to her daughter, Erin, when she is just a young teenager and soon begins to numb the regrets of her life through drugs and alcohol. The men who Jenny brings into her home are abusive in all possible respects to both her and her daughter, as the reader is brought into scenes of beatings, rapes, and emotional cruelty. As Erin develops into a young woman, she is dismayed to find herself in danger of following the same path in life that her mother has chosen.

Julia Booker's writing is so powerful because each word seems to come at the reader from a place of genuine and enduring pain. The author mentions on the back cover of I'm Still Standing that her book depicts a true story, which makes each episode of abuse and neglect even more compelling. There is no attempt to sugarcoat the harsh reality that exists in the lives of both Jenny and Erin. The scenes of violence are graphic, the language used between those who should be in loving relationships is explicit and hurtful, and all of the shattered pieces of Erin's life are not brought back together with a shiny bow by the end of the book. Yet, through it all, the reader is also given a sense that there is reason to have hope. After all, as the title points out, Erin remains standing and growing stronger through her ordeals.

If you are looking for a light read to enjoy while on vacation, I'm Still Standing is probably not the right book for you. If, however, you are ready to make an emotional investment in women who are repeatedly told they are not worth the time, you should check out this initial release by new author Julia Booker. I'm Still Standing is a gut-wrenching literary experience that sends an important message to all of its readers, but especially women, about the damage of staying in an abusive situation. Hopefully, as the author encourages in her introductory letter to her readers, the words of I'm Still Standing will result in at least one reader deciding to leave an abusive situation. I cannot imagine a more important impact for a book to have.