The Songs That Brought Me Back by Mylissa Demeyere
Book Description:
Have you ever made a mistake? One so monumental you lost everything? I did, and I hate myself for it! All I want to do is close my eyes, and let the darkness consume me. Make it all go away. The end.
Ainsley is drowning in the depth of her despair. One wrong decision left her alone, with only regret as her constant companion. To escape it all, she makes another choice. One she hopes will end everything. Instead, she’s thrown into a whole new world filled with opportunities she doesn’t believe she deserves.
Ethan gives the appearance of breezing through life. But underneath his bright facade, he’s scarred by loss. When fate leads him into Ainsley’s world at the exact moment she needs someone the most, he can’t ignore the chance to right the wrongs of his past.
Ainsley and Ethan will struggle to help each other heal and start anew. They’ll learn that the secret to conquering their pain lies within their power, if only they can do it together.
Always together.
Sometimes the ending is really the beginning.
Review:
The Songs That Brought Me Back is the first book I've read that has a major focus on suicide. The author's note about why she wrote the book (see below) was the first thing I read, and since her father committed suicide it is a very important topic for her. I think knowing her feelings on it added to the impact it had on me as I read it.
It's hard to know where to start with my feelings on the novel-it really created a lot of emotions that were all over the place. The characters were well developed. For a good portion of the story we are left guessing about why Ethan's reaction to finding Ainsley was so much deeper than it would be for the average person. When that is revealed it was quite heartbreaking.
While I thought Ethan and Ainsley were good together, there was a lot of dependency that made me question if their relationship was healthy at times.
I liked the overall story and that it addressed suicide. Parts seemed to go on a bit long, and I did find myself skimming at times.
This is a sequel to The Songs of You and Me which I haven't read. I was confused about the song part in the title when there isn't any mention in the story about music. Each chapter has a song listed at the beginning, but apparently that is just the song that gave the inspiration to the author for the chapter.
Many people would categorize this as clean because the characters don't have pre-martial sex. For those that prefer a squeaky clean read, note that there's quite a bit of descriptive French kissing, want for more that doesn't happen before marriage, and a few swearwords.
Why I wrote Ainsley's story (from Mylissa Demeyere)
Did you know that every forty seconds 1 person dies due to suicide? That’s close to 800,000 worldwide, each year. There are indications that for each adult who dies of suicide there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide. That’s an estimate of 16,000,000 attempted suicides worldwide amongst adults. (Source: The World Health Organization).
Five days shy of my sixteenth birthday, my father’s body was found after he had killed himself. Needless to say, it wasn’t the sweet sixteen it could have been.
That event had quite an impact on my life and how I decided to face the challenges I meet.
When I wrote The Songs of You and Me, I delved into Jackson’s past. He got to tell his side of how Ainsley’s choices affected him. I never felt I could leave her tale untold. Each story always has at least two sides to it.
Why does a person make such horrible choices as Ainsley did? What drives them to such selfishness? And does a person like Ainsley have it in her to redeem herself?
My dad made the choice not to fight and right the wrongs in his life. It not only ended his life; it impacted many other lives.
Ainsley’s story is my way of showing you what can happen when people who make mistakes decide to try and do better. Because everyone deserves a second chance to right the wrong and start over again.
This is Ainsley’s story of what happens when you choose to not give up.
I hope that whomever reads this, will realize that we all, at one point in our life need and deserve second chances. When we take those chances, and turn our lives around, miracles can happen. I have seen it firsthand and the stories that follow are beautiful. Not perfect, but definitely worth living.
Even when life seems dark, lost, and like there is no other way than ending it, there is ALWAYS another option.
To everyone who has ever felt like there was never another way, this story is for you. My dad didn’t take the other way, but I hope you will find help. Life isn’t always perfect, but it is a wonderful gift. Definitely worth fighting for.
Author Mylissa Demeyere
Mylissa Demeyere was born in Belgium, and resides in the beautiful city of Ghent. She lives in a somewhat organized home with her four beautiful children and the love of her life. If she isn’t working, she’s writing, running, reading, or enjoying time with her kids, who are growing up way too fast.
The Songs That Brought Me Back is her second novel in The Songs Series, with a third book releasing in the middle of 2019.
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Ends 12/30/18
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