Official Review: Ginny and Me: Reflections of What God Ca...

[kasi1215]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Ginny and Me: Reflections of What God Can Do" by Christine Walters.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Ginny and Me: Reflections of What God Can Do is a true story of the author’s life with her mentally ill mother and sick father along with the story of her life after she married and had kids. Christine Walters wrote a truly heart-wrenching book and it is immediately evident that she has conquered so many tragic events in her life and has come out on the other side a remarkable person.

Christine’s mom, Ginny, grew up in a hospital (before there were mental institutions). She had multiple personalities and was in and out of hospitals her entire life. Christine was born to a white mother and an African-American father, which caused a lot of problems when she was younger as far as her race was concerned. Christine suffered through her mother’s mental episodes and her father’s abuse of her and her mother. When Christine was still a teenager, she got pregnant and was married by the age of 18. Her husband accepted her as she was, despite the tragedies in her life, because he too had lived a tragic life. They were very broke and had to rely on neighbors for water and electricity – this was the happiest time in their lives because all they had was each other. Christine eventually moved away from her mother and eventually had four children with her husband – she always prayed for many children. In the end of the story, Christine tells of two more tragedies in her life. Pondering these two instances with the others in her life taught Christine what God can do.

I am a Christian, so I definitely understood Christine’s spiritual reflections in this book. She ties together her story with the spiritual revelations she's had very well - without the book being overwhelmingly “Christian”, as some books tend to be.

Christine’s life was a thunderstorm of bad circumstances, tragedies, and loss – but she shines in this book. For all of the troubles Christine had with school attendance and setbacks, she has written a remarkable account of her and her mother’s life. I could not put this book down as soon as I started reading it, I was hooked.

I enjoyed nearly every part of this book – though I would have loved for there to have been more to the stories. Most people who have lived through tragedy after tragedy, like Christine, tend to block things from their memory – it did feel like some parts of the story were missing. Anyone who loves to read true-account stories would enjoy this quick read. I also think those who have family with mental illnesses would learn a lot from Christine's account of her life thus far.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It made me think differently about mental illnesses and loving those with mental illnesses. Christine loved her mom through all of the struggles and abuse. This book is a wonderful tribute to Ginny, who lived life through such horrible circumstances, and produced a daughter who has conquered her own tragedies and thrived and has written a marvelous book.

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Ginny and Me: Reflections of What God Can Do
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