Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - One of Our Own

One of Our Own by Lucinda Berry, narrated by A.J. Cook and Tessa Albertson, is a thriller that centers around very dark and horrific events that will unnerve and shake readers to their cores.

CW: Suicide, sexual assault, rape, trauma, grief, and more.

When Felicia, a suicide hotline volunteer, receives a call, she talks calmly to a young girl and soon learns that this one hits a little too close to home. The girl is local to her small Wisconsin town and goes to the same school as her teenage son. When the girl states, “They’re coming,” Felicia is desperate to help and breaks the number one rule by giving the girl her personal phone number.

Felicia is frantic, hoping the girl will call her back so she can try to help. When she finally does, Felicia slowly gets more information from her about what happened and why she thinks the only way forward is to kill herself. With every phone call or text exchange, things just get more dire. But will getting answers help Felicia, or will she regret ever getting involved?

My gosh. First things first, the content that this story centers on is brutal. Please tread lightly while considering this one if you have triggers with suicide, sexual assault, and other related topics as the author does NOT shy away from the darkness involved here.

For me, this was an incredibly difficult listen. I felt sick over many things that occurred and almost stopped numerous times. After finishing the tale, I felt sick to my stomach for hours, unable to shake the content that had settled so deep in my brain. I had a full-body reaction that felt like my blood was vibrating, making it impossible to settle down until I wholly immersed myself in something else that could distract me, but only to think of the story again later and begin the process again.

There’s SO much packed in here that could be considered hot topics that the author handles so perfectly, getting readers to see different angles of things that they may have made assumptions about before in their real-world lives and checking their biases.

From the thriller standpoint, I can definitely say this tale had me on edge the entire time!

While listening to the story, I was equally captivated and disgusted. I was so nervous for both women and dreaded what they would say or do next as I kept fearing the worst for each of them. The element that hit me the hardest was the relationship Felicia had with her son. Sitting and listening to this audiobook while holding my little eleven-week-old son was a very unnerving experience. All I wanted to do was cry for this character and hope to all the higher powers there are out there that I never relate in my personal life.

Bringing the content to life, the narrators, A.J. Cook and Tessa Albertson, do such an amazing job with this tale! The emotion they bring to the recording will make the content of the story hit extra hard.

My Favorite Passages from One of Our Own –

Teens lived in a world where the future didn’t exist.

“You worry too damn much,” he said, giving me a dimpled smile at the joke we’d had since he was ten. It was funny because the first time he said it was also the first time he’d ever sworn at me or in front of me. One of those milestones you didn’t know was happening until after it was over.

Mothers protected their children at all costs. But what if your child was the one others needed protecting from?

My Final Thoughts on One of Our Own –

If you’re looking for a thriller that will leave you just sick to your stomach, then look no further! This story packs a series of brutal gut punches that linger long after the last impact. And while labeled a thriller, this one is a real-world horror!

Prepare yourselves before diving in.

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