Review of Dragons to Butterflies

[Tasha Marie Poole Sullivan]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Dragons to Butterflies" by Johnnie Calloway.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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I just finished reading Dragons to Butterflies by Johnnie Calloway. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars, despite it being very hard to read. I don’t mean it is poorly edited, because it isn’t, and I found very few typos. The book is, however, full of raw emotion. It took me longer to read than normal for a book of this length just due to the emotional content of the book. This is not a made-up story; it is the author’s life, and what he lived through.
Dragons to Butterflies details a life that no person, child or adult, should have to live through. The author lived through losing his mother at a young age, dealing with abuse, witnessing the abuse of his siblings and grandparents, all at the hands of the very person who should have protected him, and finally his own journey into drugs, alcohol, and mental illness. The fact that he came out on top after all this is nothing short of amazing. It is a story that is sad, heartbreaking, terrifying, and beautiful, all at once. Johnnie tells how a person can be knocked down repeatedly yet still pick themselves back up and go forward. He shared how he gained and lost and gained again so much in life. He repeatedly lost businesses, homes, girlfriends, friends, spouses, respect from others and himself, and his very sanity, yet he always managed to start again. He forgave the unforgivable and healed himself in the process.
As a survivor and the daughter of an alcoholic, who went on to marry and subsequently divorced two alcoholics/addicts I related to a lot of Johnnie’s life. However, the scope of the abuse that he suffered and witnessed was hard to wrap my brain around. As soon as I started reading the synopsis and saw that he had forgiven his father after so many years of abuse, I knew I had to read this book. I had to know how he managed to forgive something so deplorable when so many of us have a hard time forgiving even small things. Johnnie not only lived through his atrocious childhood and tumultuous adulthood, but he also thrived and flourished in the end. Johnnie Calloway was told he was nothing and would amount to nothing, but to me, he is a true hero and an inspiration. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever dealt with trying to forgive or even just with the toughness life throws at you.

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Dragons to Butterflies
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