Outcast

By: Andrea McKenzie Raine

Read: 08 September 2015

I really liked this one, though I thought it ended a bit abruptly (hence the 4-star rating). It is a quick read, but one that will stay with you a little after reading. And with my own background in Psychology, I was able to recall symptoms of aphasia and mental breakdown, and enjoyed the realistic representation of a sufferer of both.

For those who need a brush up on Psych 101, or want to know a bit more of these disorders, or just want to know what Wiki has to say about it, here are links to the Wikipedia pages about these two disorders:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphasia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_breakdown

Frances is a dedicated mother, loving wife, and hard worker. Stuck in a life that has ceased to value her, or worry itself with her needs, she is left simply going through the motions. When she winds up hospitalized, her family gathers, frightened, but unable to care for her the way she has been caring for them.

It isn’t until she lets herself go and frees herself of the actual and perceived roles that she has been backed into that Frances starts to question her life and what its all about.

I really liked Frances. I wanted to reach out and help her, to hold her hand and let her know its okay. But this strong woman figured it out on her own.

This story is for everyone who feels trapped by an unforgiving life – and I know that everyone feels a bit like Frances every now and again. The difference is how you choose to react toward it. It also shows that being brave doesn’t always mean doing something extravagant – sometimes being brave is admitting something to yourself.

This is not my typical type of story, but I’m glad I picked it up. Honestly, I picked it up for free on Kindle, after clicking on the advertisement on GoodReads, but this story is worth it’s $.99 pricetag. So, while this wasn’t really a First Read, I’ll still count it as one!