Rakmen is one of a group of broken people trying to
deal with loss and grief during monthly therapy sessions at Promise House.
There is also Molly, Rakmen’s soft spot, ten year old Jacey, and her mother
Leah who is also Rakmen’s teacher.
Rakmen is racked with guilt, believing he could
have saved his baby sister who died in his arms. His parents are on the verge
of a break-up.
To distract himself from dark thoughts, Rakmen copies short
notes and headlines from the daily papers into a notebook that he carries
everywhere.
He is falling apart. Already flunking high school, he believes nothing
worse could happen to him. But it does.
He is forced to join Leah and Jacey on
a camping trip beside a lake in Canada. On arrival, they discover Leah’s house
is rotted and rat infested. After several serious mishaps, Leah decides to
follow a familiar but gruelling camping and rowing trail that she had trekked
years ago. Her unspoken intention is that the physical challenge will lessen
their grief and destructive sense of loss.
The three set out au large to find the glue to
piece themselves together again. Without realizing it, their expedition into
the wilds of Canada becomes a journey of restoration and an adventure of a
lifetime. They shift into a sense of acceptance as they find out about
themselves and each other during the time spent together. Surrounded by the
wild beauty of untamed nature, their pain and anger diminishes.
But life isn’t ready to stop shooting arrows at
them. When Leah slips and breaks her ankle, Rakmen and Jacey must retain their focus,
strength and courage to make the trek back to where they started to get help
for Leah, before her food and water runs out. To save time, they must ride the
rapids, risking the possibility of tipping and drowning, losing their lives,
and Leah’s.
Themes of grief and loss are beautifully portrayed
within the desolation of guilt and regret in each of the characters, even the
ones that play a smaller but significant role. There is growth and change that
ultimately serves to prove that all things pass; that time can replace pain
with other things, and that the human spirit is a magnificent power, there to
be sourced.
Title:
The Way Back From Broken
Author:
Amber J. Keyser
Publisher:
Walker Books, $19.99
Publication
Date: April 2018
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781541514881
For
ages: 12+
Type:
Middle Fiction
