Review by Krithika_309 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

Krithika_309 · Post by **Krithika_309** » 12 May 2018, 07:29

[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a kaleidoscope of contents. It talks about human origin, archeology, ancient stories and truths, ancient tools, navigation and survival techniques, child abuse, family relationships and a mix of emotions. It was a blend of Archeology and Adventure.

Ruth forcibly leaves Sarah with Tom. Tom has learned from Ruth that Sarah is his grand-daughter. Tom and his family had planned for a hiking trip. The sudden addition of an unexpected and uninvited member creates an uncertainty and they can't decide if they should continue with their trip. Tom, William, Myra and Sarah started their hike into the Olympic National Park, the place of magic, history and legend after a little argument about Sarah’s presence in the trip. They were all getting onto the same wavelength and enjoying the sketches of Sarah. They face a sudden turning point in their trip when Sarah mysteriously disappears. The rescue rangers called off the rescue after three days of failed attempts. Tom, William and Myra continued to comb the valley for eight days. Myra had just started her descent when Tom and William find Sarah covered with mud and heavily injured. What they learn from these eight days of Sarah’s life leaves them to wander between belief and facts.

The map at the beginning of the book and the title of the book was building curiosity. I was curious to visualize things when reading about extinct species of animals, the tribes and their tools described in this book and had to switch to my internet browser multiple times to see how it looks. There was only one picture of the Short Face Bear towards the end of the book. Embedding few pictures of Sarah’s sketches, the bear and the ancient tools inside the book would have added up to the spice.

I would like to quote a phrase which is also my takeaway from this book. “This is even harder when global paradigms prevent new thinking. For centuries, anyone who suggested the earth was not flat was burned at the stake.” It is true even today that people who utter something beyond the belief of the society are ill-treated or neglected. There were few arguments on human origin, which I felt was little dragging but later, I was convinced that it is important to have such discussions and encourage people to think and scrutinize events or experiences beyond their knowledge. One another similar instance was when Sarah narrates her experience of those eight days and no one believes it.

I strongly recommend this book for all adventure loving people. The author has also published a short YouTube video picturizing the magical Olympic National Park, where Sarah, her grandfather and others had a great adventure.

I enjoyed reading this book and without any hesitation, I give it 4 out of 4 stars.

******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Krithika_309's review? Post a comment saying so!