A Review By Wendy
4 Making the Decision for the Right Reasons Stars
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All of us have had demons of some kind at one point in our lives... some more destructive than others. What we do to block them out can take many forms... Some of us read to escape; some of us will indulge with food... and then others have used more complex tools such as alcohol or drugs. With any addiction, the substance abused must be cut out and over come....but more importantly, it is the reasons why the person used these things to escape which must be confronted and understood.
In her series of the "Kelly Boys", Christa McHugh uses the brother Ethan to approach this subject. This was my first book with this series, so my reading of it may be different then those who are familiar with the series. I had no expectations of seeing past characters or understanding of how they all interacted. I only had this story and I found it insightful to the what it was tackling.
You have the rock star... with all the of bells and whistles of fame; indulgent fans and handlers, industry pressures and the need to be with his best friend with everything... A need so strong, it blinded him from seeing how dark the path was with his friend and band mate, Tyler...Ethan experiences a deadly wake up call with the overdose and death of Tyler.... is able to use this horror to see he needs to be clean and live... but to do this without his "brother"... his band mate... leaves a hole in his heart.
Ethan does everything to remove himself from the places and things which could trigger him.... he has gone through rehab without all the pomp and circumstance other celebrities have done... he has dropped off the face of media... no one knows where he is... only a brother and parents. He has changed his appearance to fly under the radar... because being the voice and songwriter of one of the most cherished and famous bands makes being alone an impossibility.
He sits now in a old church basement in New York City, a far cry from his past life in the LA/Hollywood scene, doing the required meetings of NA and being concerned... wondering if he is going to be discovered... will his identity be sold out and paps find him....The leader of the meeting has told him he has someone he wants him to meet after the session. Ethan is skeptical but nods, ok. As he sits in the circle, waiting... he sees a vision... a woman who he would have started a conversation and hit on in nothing flat... she has it all; a presence... upscale, Park Ave, beautiful but he would assume very High Maintenance.... he catches her looking at him...and she turns away...They all stand to end the meeting with the reciting the prayer. He ends up so close to her, the scent she wears causes him to relax and feel a little better...
He is introduced to Ms.Park Ave. and told she would be a good fit for him till he found a sponsor... she would understanding his "situation" better than most....Alarms start firing in Ethan's mind... what was she told...he worked so hard to hide his addition and get clean... he is almost in panic mode when Rebecca... reaches out and says to just take it easy and this is just a meeting and she can help him... still concerned he asks what she was told about him...and it seems not much... just that she would "get" him and be a good match per the leader of the meeting.... she tells him if he comes to the next meeting... she will tell him more about herself but also reminds him the A for these meetings stand for Anonymous and that pertains to all... Ethan isn't sure what to do... and thinks about just getting through the next hour, let alone the next week.
What he will learn, if he gives Rebecca a chance, is she is a kindred soul in many ways... Society family, massive media profile; the darling out and about with the hot crowd of the moment... and paps all over her every move... pics splashed with every wardrobe malfunction or awkward pose... ending with a huge melt down at a charity ball in front of all of society. All the drugs, pressure and pain... there for all to see.
She took herself out of the picture, literally...left all of the flashy friends... focused on what she wanted to be... not all the dictates of her father... and decided to go out on her own without any support from them...She had her best friend, was able to live with her and work a meager position with a magazine as an assistant... with hopes to be a journalist of merit. She has made a life with hopes and dreams... and the understanding of how to protect herself... to be strong... she is who she is... making it on her own two feet.
These two have coffee after their meetings and tentatively forge a type of relationship... foremost, she is there for him... she wants him to succeed and will use every method she knows to make it happen... along the way... they connect deeper than both know is right... yet there is a need in both... How do to people with pasts like they have support one another... how to get through this valley of pain and emerge into the light and able to make it through... so many stumbling blocks to overcome... can he trust her... can she see her way clear to accept who he turns out to be... and can they be good for each other or are they the very thing they should avoid....
I felt this book over all gave insight to addictions; why they occur, the terror of trying to move forward and the hope and positive reassurance of coming out of this cycle. Both characters had real environments to cause a want to escape... Rebecca's was tragic as it was from her father and his need to control everything... and to assume the worst about his daughter. Ethan's was more common to his industry and became part of the music making process, robbing him of the pure joy he had from the beginning of his career. Both worked hard to make their way through and the journey was worth it in the end.
Together they were solid; they had the misunderstanding and it was crushing... but they worked through it all. Their times together felt real... nervous, wanting and then loving.
Overall this was a solid read for me and I appreciated the tale. It has made me curious about these Kelly Brothers... so I will have to go and start from the beginning...
A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Crista McHugh |
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