I finished this book last week and I've been waiting to review so I can hopefully find the right words to describe just how incredible this book is.

I think I picked this book up when I most needed it. Reading this book felt like talking to a trusted friend. Chanel is an exceptional writer; her words are vivid and deliberate. She does an exceptional job describing every aspect of being a survivor. One of my favorite parts of the book is Chanel's jar metaphor:

"At the time, it was very simple; I put the memory of that morning inside a large jar. I took this jar and carried it down, down, down, flights and flights of stairs, placing it inside a cabinet, locking it away, and walking briskly up the stairs to continue with the life I had built, the one that had nothing to do with him, or what he could ever do to me. The jar was gone."

"Every time I thought of that morning, another jar was born. Now jars filled every inch of my mind. I had nowhere to put them. They cluttered the stairwells, could not be contained in cabinets. I was full of those sealed jars, no room to sit or walk or breathe."

More than anything I've ever read, this for me encapsulated what it means to be a survivor. Chanel, thank you so much for writing this book and for sharing your story. I am deeply grateful to have had your words as a companion. Thank you.