My take: This book was hard to read, not because it was poorly written, but because the author shared her pain. I think at some point we have all felt as though we were different, or not good enough, or that others didn't accept it, but Amy felt that way everyday, from a young age. She had no support systems and was ridiculed by family and teachers.

But God...

Those two words are critical to each of us, and especially to Amy, who was raised by parents who didn't believe in God. Somehow, through His great love, Amy was able to escape the harassment and abuse, and came to know God for His faithfulness and redemption.

This memoir isn't written like many memoirs I've read, mainly because it is written in the third person. This voice doesn't separate the reader from the very raw emotion which sometimes bleeds off the page. At times, I was fighting mad as I read about the situations Amy faced. This would be a good read for anyone who needs to be reminded that God works all things for our good.

I did receive a complimentary copy of this book and it is my honest review.

About the Book

Book title: A Door Cracked Open
Author: Carmina Edwards
Release date: November, 2015
Genre: Biography
Raised in a mean-spirited, poverty-stricken home in the seventies, where her quarrelsome father tries to squash her carefree spirit and her three siblings make fun of her, Amy struggles to understand what value she has. Somehow finding God in the midst of an atheist upbringing, she perseveres to grow up better than the useless person she’s assured she is.
When told at the age of sixteen that she must start working to pay her way instead of finishing school, she dares to dream of a better life, away from the squabbles and constant despair she encounters at home.
A magazine ad from a family in Sweden, looking for someone to watch their children, entices Amy’s adventurous spirit, and she soon finds herself looking through a new door in her life, cracked open to an amazing world she never dreamed possible, where people are nice to her and life is good.
“An incredible true story of perseverance in adversity, this is one account where truth truly is stranger than fiction.” ~Laurie Penner.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I am a mother of two wonderful grown up children and currently living in the UK, after living in Sweden for three years where I wrote my first book, “A Door Cracked Open.” I was blessed to be able to spend six months in USA before returning to the UK, my home country, to work with my editor in California on the edits of this book and visit friends.
I am an avid reader and linguist, having also spent some years living in France and have been fortunate enough to have taught Swedish and French over twenty-five years and translate for businesses and manuscripts in both languages. Being unemployed the past few years, has led to me becoming homeless. However, I never give up hope. As I try to portray in my books, God has always had His hand on me. Once again, He has stepped in right at the last minute. I now have a new job in Sweden and will be moving back there. Because I feel passionately about helping the homeless, a large percentage of my royalties will go directly to them.

GUEST POST
Something about my book.
After many friends, having seen the unusual life I have led up until now, told me that I should write a book, I finally decided to do just that. I am an ordinary person who has not suffered more than many, but have been privileged with many extra-ordinary experiences. I wrote my book in order to share with others, just how God has had His hand on me and brought me through some tough times which seemed impossible to find a way out of. My first book highlights some of this, though it isn’t until the second book, that more becomes clear and the third book will show the extreme mercy and grace He has showered me with. The story is still unfolding. My aim is to show, through my writing, that giving up is never an option. Stay true to God and He does pull us through. Trusting in Him is key and I personally, have seen Him transform some of the dreams He put onto my heart, into reality. I’d love for my books to be of some encouragement to others and have so far received several emails from readers all over the world, telling me how my story so far, has done that. One went so far as to say that she had given up, but read my book purely by chance and has picked herself up and is once again back on the road to reach her goals. The story of a scatty, spontaneous and highly sensitive girl, ridiculed all her life because of her faith and dreams, (she’s born into a completely atheist family). never gives up and some of the situations she gets herself into are pretty scary, but sometimes humorous. Yet God’s protection is seen all the way through.