ljm57 's review for:

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

4.0

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Miles Franklin Award Winner 2022. How much trauma and loss can one life withstand before breaking? This powerful and engrossing story follows the path of Australian Maggie Sullivan, now middle-aged, living a different life in Burlington, Vermont. It’s 2018 and Maggie receives a startling and unwanted Facebook message from someone she knew in the past, a past she’s spent decades escaping. This unexpected reaching out from an old friend propels the narrative back to Maggie’s troubled childhood, through her teenage years and into young adulthood, each phase of her life drenched in some form physical or emotional pain or abuse. Her story is tragic but told with such sensitivity it was difficult to put down. I found this raw and real, so much so that it read more like an autobiography than fiction. Although it dealt with issues most couldn’t imagine, it was totally relatable and Maggie’s torment was palpable. And as much as there’s incredible sadness throughout, there’s also terrific camaraderie, love, understanding, forgiveness and hope. The audio read in Maggie’s voice was terrific!