Helpful Score: 3
A book where mental illness takes center stage, but the reader gets a full picture with this read - from both the person fighting the illness to the family that is affected by the highs and the lows of the disease. The format of this book was a perfect way to share the story both what is currently happening to the full story of the past.
From the beginning we meet Eden who has been severely damaged by her father's battle with a mental illness. She has struggled with her romantic relationships and can not find fulfillment at her job. Throughout the book you read the past from both her perspective and her fathers and learn why she has come to be the adult she is now. I absolutely loved reading the perspective of her father and having moments in his head as he tried to conform to society's standards and be a father and a husband.
A story that hits you deep in your heart and makes you want to rescue her from her expectations of a father that can't live up to them. I fell hard into this book and was swallowed hole by the story. I couldn't put down if I tried!
From the beginning we meet Eden who has been severely damaged by her father's battle with a mental illness. She has struggled with her romantic relationships and can not find fulfillment at her job. Throughout the book you read the past from both her perspective and her fathers and learn why she has come to be the adult she is now. I absolutely loved reading the perspective of her father and having moments in his head as he tried to conform to society's standards and be a father and a husband.
A story that hits you deep in your heart and makes you want to rescue her from her expectations of a father that can't live up to them. I fell hard into this book and was swallowed hole by the story. I couldn't put down if I tried!
Helpful Score: 2
Good overview of mental illness; sad and tragic but a good story
I wanted to keep reading and to find out more about the characters. I wished the book hadn't ended.
Eden loved playing with her father and he was a great teacher in an unorthodox way. She knew he had a mental illness but was optimistic that he would get better. Sometimes he had bad days and sometimes he had good days, but she was just grateful that he was there.
David had huge mood swings, from anger to depression to elation, as well as voices talking in his head. He tried to be the husband and father that his family needed, but it was just not him. He wanted to be who he was without conforming to what society dictated how he should act and he should perform. But eventually the demons became too much for him and he tried to kill himself one afternoon. Unfortunately, his young daughter Eden found him, bleeding out.
David never came home. He went to a psychiatric hospital and his wife presented him with divorce papers. He spends the next twenty years in and out of mental institutions and living on the street. He is a gifted artist and he uses his ability to get by.
Eden becomes a chef and is very good at what she does. Her love life though, is lacking. Knowing her father never stayed, never communicated after he left, she is afraid to commit to any relationship. But when her mother is diagnosed with cancer, Eden knows she can't leave things where they are. She wants to find her father so that she can forgive him and move on with her life.
With the help of a local homeless shelter and Jack Baker, the shelter's handsome owner, Eden sets out on a journey of the heart. But will she find what she is really looking for or was it in her backyard all along?
Outside the Lines is a beautifully wrought novel that pulls at the heartstrings. A story about family, tragedy, love, hope and being free to be whom you are, Amy Hatvany does an impeccable job of writing such a heart-breaking, yet inspiring novel. Realistic and complex characters, eloquent writing, and an in-depth taste of how mental illness affects everyone surrounding them, Outside the Lines is a well-recommended read!
David had huge mood swings, from anger to depression to elation, as well as voices talking in his head. He tried to be the husband and father that his family needed, but it was just not him. He wanted to be who he was without conforming to what society dictated how he should act and he should perform. But eventually the demons became too much for him and he tried to kill himself one afternoon. Unfortunately, his young daughter Eden found him, bleeding out.
David never came home. He went to a psychiatric hospital and his wife presented him with divorce papers. He spends the next twenty years in and out of mental institutions and living on the street. He is a gifted artist and he uses his ability to get by.
Eden becomes a chef and is very good at what she does. Her love life though, is lacking. Knowing her father never stayed, never communicated after he left, she is afraid to commit to any relationship. But when her mother is diagnosed with cancer, Eden knows she can't leave things where they are. She wants to find her father so that she can forgive him and move on with her life.
With the help of a local homeless shelter and Jack Baker, the shelter's handsome owner, Eden sets out on a journey of the heart. But will she find what she is really looking for or was it in her backyard all along?
Outside the Lines is a beautifully wrought novel that pulls at the heartstrings. A story about family, tragedy, love, hope and being free to be whom you are, Amy Hatvany does an impeccable job of writing such a heart-breaking, yet inspiring novel. Realistic and complex characters, eloquent writing, and an in-depth taste of how mental illness affects everyone surrounding them, Outside the Lines is a well-recommended read!
This is a story of a woman who searches for and finds her father after not seeing him for many years. It is the story of mental illness and gives some good insight into this illness and the paths it takes on individuals and families.
