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Julia A. (New York, NY)
"You can do anything"
It is somehow fitting that I would be reading "Rise" in October, which among other monthly designations, is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Women react in many ways to intimate partner abuse. In Cara's case, she had not one, but two abusive husbands. She also had four children to consider. Once she had finally disentangled from the consecutive abusive situations, her solution for healing the family was to build a new home from the ground up. Her plan was quixotic in the extreme, since none of them knew anything about construction. However, Cara was nothing if not resourceful, and she managed to convince a
…more bank to lend to her and set out to learn all she could. Her children signed onto the plan, with the three oldest being active member of the construction crew and the baby enlisted for some simple tasks. Who knew one could learn so much about building a house from YouTube videos? The intrepid Cara and her kids found that out. Granted, there were times when they had to enlist experts, such as for the electrical work, but mostly, the family did everything. By so doing, they grew as a family and healed from their past. The story is inspirational, and largely positive. I admit to being sometimes distracted when the narration would suddenly shift back in time, but once I got used to that, I realized it served perhaps better than a strictly chronological recounting might have. Toward the end, at a point when Cara is questioning whether all the sacrifices they'd made in the year of building were worth it, she overhears Drew (her older son) tell Jada (her younger daughter), "You built your own damn house, you can do anything." For Cara, and for the reader, that is a culminating moment. Cara knows and we know, that the house built the family as much as the family built the house. (less)A remarkable story of one woman, her 3 young children and her tenacious drive to "self-build" a home on a shoe-string budget. With the help of only the internet and a few professionals, together they designed, lugged, nailed and finished a 3 car, two story home in less than a year. Cara Brookins, the plucky author, survived two disastrous, abusive marriages to make the incredible decision to start anew with her 2, 11 and 17 year old children. The story is told in alternating chapters: Rise, the chapters of the slow, but sure erection of their "hands-on" house as they suffered through peaks and valleys of
…more construction; and Fall the chapters of her manic husband threatening, abusing and stalking her. The book is written with pathos, wit and clarity, easy to read and hard to put down. It would be interesting to hear comments from a contractor regarding her ability to successfully "raise the roof", install the plumbing, and obtain inspectors' approval in such short a time. Despite the arduous tasks, Brookins finds humor in describing the bumbling helpers she recruits, the pot-smoking electricians, and the antics of her 2 year old playing in the mud on site. Book clubs would revel in her ingenuity in Rise chapters and cringe at the abuse of her husbands in the Fall chapters. Good work, Cara. You are a survivor! (less)This story captured the human spirit to rise above the difficulties and challenges life often presents as we meet Cara and her four children Drew, Roman, Jada and Hope as they seek to rebuild a normal life after living in a home where domestic abuse was the norm in their early years.
Fortunately, few of us have experience with domestic violence but are brought to an understanding of the horror and scars that may remain long after as the author takes us through the day to day thinking that goes on in the minds of the abused long after the abuse has stopped. Yet it is a story of resilience and strength to overcome
…more that is told, giving us hope that where there is a will to not only survive, but to thrive, we will see people rise above their circumstances and become what we are intended to be. Our best selves always prevail if we honor the truth within and cultivate the desires and dreams of the future we seek.
A well written book that left me more compassionate towards people who have lived though experiences I have not. Reading this book will make me a better person more able to connect on a level that previously I did not have the sensitivity or knowledge needed to be capable of understanding what a life of domestic violence can do on the day to day impressions of life moving forward from the wreckage of the past. (less)An uplifting story about courage and determination of a women and her four children. I applaud her! What an inspiration. The author also gives the reader insight into mental illness and our mental health system. I found it a little hard to believe some of the things they accomplished and coordinated; but was impressed.
Marcia S. (Ackley, IA)
Finding the Strength
I so admire the Brookins family who pulled together to build their own house. Perhaps that doesn't sound so fantastic, until you realize that this was done by a single mother and her four children. (However, the youngest was really too young to help.) This family moved from abuse to strength because they formed a common goal and sacrificed and worked to achieve it. I so admire the fact that they didn't feel sorry for themselves or expect anyone else to "take care of them" or support them. I did like the book and think it would appeal to young adults and adults alike. When describing the abuse and fear, the
…more reader truly feels the family's pain. You also want to cheer as they overcome each insurmountable step in building the house. It's a book of both sadness and joy, and most of all finding strength and each other. (I'm reviewing a pre-release book I won.) (less)...but I just couldn't connect with the author or her story. I felt confused from the start, with her storytelling itself- the reader is dropped straight into a very messy and chaotic story of a damaged family, and propelled along without much to guide you along the way. Gradually, Brookins does begin to shed light on the past, revealing more about her terrifying struggles with her husbands, but I felt that these details came too late- she and her family were already well into the building of the new house that I just couldn't connect to their struggle as I wanted to.
Overall, this is an amazing story of survival
…more and resilience, and of thriving after devastation- I just wish it had been more organized from the start, as a story, because I found it hard to get in to. (less)I couldn't like this story. Each chapter was a repetitive theme on the last chapter ... dealing with deeply disturbed ex-husbands, a crazy need to be out until all hours building a house, holding down three jobs, raising four children and dealing with men in the building business who were so obviously disrespectful of women over and over ... that it quickly became tiresome. Well, except for the three Hispanic fishermen - they rocked.
That said, I had to admire her stubbornness and complete inability to think logically in the middle of dire situations that she, herself created.
Her writing style is rapid and easy
…more to read and this would make a great Oprah Book Club read. (less)The premise is pretty amazing. Not a lot of women - or men, for that matter - would drag their four kids, including a two-year-old, out to the woods to build their dream house.
This story will appeal to people interested in construction as a large portion of the narrative is dedicated to the actual process of building the house, step by step.
I don't agree with the title, "How a House Built a Family" as they were already tightly bonded and committed to each other. Her children proved themselves to be strong, capable and incredibly tolerant throughout the entire story. They are far closer to perfect than most
…more children - or adults.
Perhaps this is why I was somewhat troubled by the "fall" sections. The family's history with one of her troubled former husbands is revealed in a melodramatic manner which felt a bit exploitative. (less)
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