Two years ago I read Bent Not Broken and reviewed it with enthusiasm.
As I re-read that review some of the thoughts in it seemed to fit with
equal appropriateness in this review of Life on the Line.
"Who should read this book? .... Above all those who feel that there is no
hope of a better life, so that their hope can be restored."
"I believe it can have a powerful influence for good because it is the
frank account of the life of a woman who succeeds in fulfilling a seemingly
impossible ambition after years of destructive experiences."
"I greatly admire the courage and openness she showed in writing about her
life and in struggling on despite clinical depression during many of the
down times."
A moving second volume on Lauren's life
Sometimes the second volume in an autobiography can be a disappointment.
Not so with Life on the Line. If our hopes after reading Bent
Not Broken were for her to be like Cinderella and have a charmed life
living happily ever after, we are to be sadly disappointed. What she
describes as 'the black bear of depression' is aggravated by difficulties
with her elder son who used his undoubted charm to assist him, as from his
early teens he descended into a life of crime, including sexual abuse of
children. She is thwarted in her plans for further advancement as a doctor
and has difficulties with relationships and with managing her money.
Despite all the setbacks she is able to write about what has happened with
the frankness and choice of powerful detail which she demonstrated in her
first book. She describes vividly how in one aspect of her life after
another her world was collapsing and how she eventually attempted
suicide.
If you find reading this account of a series of disasters and
disappointments depressing, you could do as I did and dip into the closing
chapters to read about Lauren's courageous return to a satisfying life as
mother of Paulie, her younger son who has an intellectual disability, as a
doctor working in sexual health, a writer and a public speaker. Then
return to the account of the traumas.
Depression and how to cope with it
For a lot of readers one of the most valued parts of Life on the
Line will prove to be Lauren's writing about depression and the best
ways of coping with it. She says of this aspect of the book:
"In writing this book and talking about my own battle with depression I
hope to help demystify the illness and bring it further into the open.
There is a stigma attached to it. After publishing Bent Not
Broken my own struggles became well known and a large number of people
sought me out to discuss and seek treatment for this mental illness....
One thing I know first-hand is the singular determination that grips
someone bent on suicide, and the paradoxical euphoria and calm that
accompanies the decision to find a final refuge from
everything."
The pain of seeing one's child involved in serious crime
Those who have had the painful experience of coping with a child who has
become an abuser and committed serious crimes may be helped by her account
of how she feels in this situation and how she copes with her anger about
what has happened.
Worldwide success of Bent Not Broken
Bent Not Broken has become a best seller, has been published in
the United Kingdom and has now been translated into German for release in
Germany in March.
It is to be hoped that Life on the Line is read equally widely not
only because the story is powerfully written, but also because its themes
reinforce even more strongly the message of Bent Not Broken.
To quote the closing words of Life on the Line
"Strong now, I am looking forward to the second half of my life. I'm in
charge and creating a life for myself that is healthy and good. It's not
sympathy that I want, but I do want to earn respect. I have survived and
tried to act with integrity. A victim no more, I have spoken out.
Beyond the pain, anger and grief there is hope."
