Official Review: The book of David God life and recovery
Posted: 29 Apr 2020, 02:02
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The book of David God life and recovery" by David O'Meara.]
The book of David God, Life, and Recovery by David O'Meara is a book of contemporary free verse. The writings in this book reflect the author's struggle with addiction, depression, and mental health issues. It also reflects his spiritual walk with God through these difficulties and his progress along the way. Some of the early poems feature subjects like hope and freedom, while the middle of the book concentrates on darker thoughts before again moving into lighter tones toward the end. I appreciated this progression of accomplishments and trials.
The illustration at the beginning, the only one in the book, says much about the work as a whole. It outlines a human figure with lines of sincere expression. Anguish, fear, and sadness permeate the pencil rendering, which is interspersed with small illustrations of skeletal form throughout. It leaves the reader with a taste of the kind of work they are about to delve into on the first page.
This book, comprised of 333 pages, is not for fans of a quick read. It is formatted with two books in one, which makes it quite long. It could, however, be read in sections. It is written in a way that makes it easy for readers to pick up anywhere in the book and follow along the theme without feeling that they've missed something key to the story. I appreciated this style of writing as I progressed through the author's free-verse style.
What I liked the most about this book is how the author communicated that this work is about his dreams and experiences. His hope to touch someone with his story is commendable. He went through many difficult times, and his writing delivers the emotion one would expect of someone going through drug and alcohol addiction, mental health problems, and suicide attempts. His walk with God is an insight into his inner self, and that personal revelation of self will resonate with many readers.
The author brings up questions designed to make people think. "Why is there terrorism?" "Why are there gangs?" The thoughts brought to mind by these questions are vivid and draw the reader into the book. This tactic keeps the book fast-paced all the way through.
Despite some of the heavy subjects in this book, there is a good deal of encouragement for discerning poetry fans. The poem within entitled "Hope" is a great example. "Succeed in the way you choose." The lines are a simple expression of the essence of hope. That said, I have to issue a word of warning. The poetry in this book is for adults only and is liberally laced with vivid, strong profanity. It contains detailed descriptions of the sexual abuse of a child by a pedophile. I recommend it to only the most mature readers. The bad language and sexual content are what I disliked the most about this book.
There was a formatting issue where the font size changed in one poem and then reverted to the previous format. That mistake and the spelling and spacing issues made the book look as though it had not been professionally edited. Also, the cover design and title, while showing that the book is spiritual, did not reflect the level of sexual content and strong language in the book. For these reasons, I am rating this book with 3 out of 4 stars. I didn't rank it lower because the author's intent and delivery in the text seemed to match up evenly. It will appeal the most to readers who have dealt with addiction and mental health issues. If you aren't up to strong language, adult situations, and violence, this may not be the book for you.
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The book of David God life and recovery
View: on Bookshelves
The book of David God, Life, and Recovery by David O'Meara is a book of contemporary free verse. The writings in this book reflect the author's struggle with addiction, depression, and mental health issues. It also reflects his spiritual walk with God through these difficulties and his progress along the way. Some of the early poems feature subjects like hope and freedom, while the middle of the book concentrates on darker thoughts before again moving into lighter tones toward the end. I appreciated this progression of accomplishments and trials.
The illustration at the beginning, the only one in the book, says much about the work as a whole. It outlines a human figure with lines of sincere expression. Anguish, fear, and sadness permeate the pencil rendering, which is interspersed with small illustrations of skeletal form throughout. It leaves the reader with a taste of the kind of work they are about to delve into on the first page.
This book, comprised of 333 pages, is not for fans of a quick read. It is formatted with two books in one, which makes it quite long. It could, however, be read in sections. It is written in a way that makes it easy for readers to pick up anywhere in the book and follow along the theme without feeling that they've missed something key to the story. I appreciated this style of writing as I progressed through the author's free-verse style.
What I liked the most about this book is how the author communicated that this work is about his dreams and experiences. His hope to touch someone with his story is commendable. He went through many difficult times, and his writing delivers the emotion one would expect of someone going through drug and alcohol addiction, mental health problems, and suicide attempts. His walk with God is an insight into his inner self, and that personal revelation of self will resonate with many readers.
The author brings up questions designed to make people think. "Why is there terrorism?" "Why are there gangs?" The thoughts brought to mind by these questions are vivid and draw the reader into the book. This tactic keeps the book fast-paced all the way through.
Despite some of the heavy subjects in this book, there is a good deal of encouragement for discerning poetry fans. The poem within entitled "Hope" is a great example. "Succeed in the way you choose." The lines are a simple expression of the essence of hope. That said, I have to issue a word of warning. The poetry in this book is for adults only and is liberally laced with vivid, strong profanity. It contains detailed descriptions of the sexual abuse of a child by a pedophile. I recommend it to only the most mature readers. The bad language and sexual content are what I disliked the most about this book.
There was a formatting issue where the font size changed in one poem and then reverted to the previous format. That mistake and the spelling and spacing issues made the book look as though it had not been professionally edited. Also, the cover design and title, while showing that the book is spiritual, did not reflect the level of sexual content and strong language in the book. For these reasons, I am rating this book with 3 out of 4 stars. I didn't rank it lower because the author's intent and delivery in the text seemed to match up evenly. It will appeal the most to readers who have dealt with addiction and mental health issues. If you aren't up to strong language, adult situations, and violence, this may not be the book for you.
******
The book of David God life and recovery
View: on Bookshelves