Lifted from Darkness is a true story. It's a memoir. I found I was reminding myself of that fact over and over, because I didn't want to forget. What read like a harrowing but gripping Hollywood blockbuster was in fact a very real woman's very real nightmare. It tells the story of how she met, married, and ultimately escaped from a drug-addicted, controlling, physically, sexually, and emotionally abusive man. She chronicles her experiences in painstaking detail, and takes the reader inside both the outward torment she endured at his hands, and the inward struggle as she fought to save herself.
Ms Foster tells a very important story here, albeit one that is incredibly difficult to read. First, she deftly and heartbreakingly answers the question, "Why?" Why would someone stay in an abusive marriage for so long? I think that there is a major lack of understanding in this area, and that because it's such an uncomfortable topic to discuss, we as a society tend to hide in our ignorance. But we need to understand it. We need to talk about it. What Alexa Foster does is share her immensely difficult and personal story in an effort to increase awareness about what it's like to live in that prison, and that's exactly what this book does. Second, and just as importantly, she gives the reader HOPE. Because through it all, she persevered, she fought, and she didn't give up. She came out stronger, and she did what she'd once believed was impossible: She built a healthy and successful life for herself.
Ultimately, this is a story of triumph, and it's one everyone should read.
I received this book for free from the BookLook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
