Necessary Non-Fiction

Normally I am not into non-fiction. There is too much reality all day long, and I like my reading to be a form of escapism. When I read these two novels, I was very excited to find that non-fiction can offer something more than what I was expecting.
I know...judging a book by it's cover and all of that...I should be past it.

I would like to lead with the amazing story put forth by Cylin Busby and John Busby, entitled The Year We Disappeared. This father/daughter duo tell the tale of the fateful night John, a cop, was shot by a hitman. The detail that remains with me even now is the horror that occurs when John looks over onto the seat and sees teeth and hair...that belonged to him at one point. All he can focus on, though, is what happened, how to get the info to the cops, and worry over his family's safety.
Cylin tells the story of going over to her aunt and uncles house to swim after the accident, not knowing what really happened. Then visiting her dad in the hospital..and realizing that the bottom half of his face is missing.
The story alternates between John narrating about the surgeries, his paranoia, and the events that lead to packing up and leaving town.
Clyin focuses on the social aspects. Friends are no longer friends. Girls aren't allowed over to her house for safety reasons. Her brothers get into fights at school.
This story is amazing and it is even more compelling because it is all true.

For a great piece of media that reviews the story, click here!

The second piece I enjoyed was Ashley Rhodes-Courter's novel: Three Little Words. Fans of "A Child Called It" will appreciate Ashley's unflinching tale.

When she is little, Ashley and her brother are taken from her unfit mother by the state. Ashley is then bounced around to the tune of 19 foster families, each foster family housing a totally different set of rules, a different hidden horror, and young Ashley must learn to navigate them all.
When the Courter's enter her life, she feels the fledgling seeds of hope start to take root. Because of her own background, Ashley can't help but feel that she is going to mess things up. She even takes pre-emptive steps to wreck things. When she realize that the Courter's are going to stick, she lets her guard down to work on beocming part of their family. With the help of her new adoptive mother, Ashley is able to meet up with her birth mother and discern what is reality and what is a child's wish.
This story is, above all, about hope. And while the nitty gritty details of foster homes are interesting and help propel the plot, I think that readers will connect with Ashley's emotions and find this novel quite satisfying.


Here is the really exciting thing about finding these non-fiction titles: if things like this exist out there in the publishing arena...a whole new world has just been dropped on my doorstep. ;) Enjoy!