Boukail Safa Safa من عند Saint Marys, NB, كندا من عند Saint Marys, NB, كندا

This is a very powerful story, and it’s written very well. I’ve been mulling this over in my head since I finished it last night. It’s a tough review for me to write, because it sits kinda close to home. I say kinda because I suffered postpartum depression, but not nearly to the degree that Simone does. But, I got help pretty quickly, when my child was 6 weeks old. Simone got no help for the depression, and was nearly constantly pregnant. But, my depression got to a scary dark place, so I can empathize – to a degree. The characters are amazing. Thoroughly developed and quite engaging. I appreciated getting various points of view – on both the present and the past– throughout the book. I think the glimpses into Simone’s psyche were quite well done. I could feel for her, but again that might be in part because I could relate to her struggles. I was not as satisfied by the ending as I could have been. Most loose ends were tied up, but not all. I want to know what happened with Johnny after the trial. I want to know more details about what happens with the girls, especially Claire, after the trial. I know the focus of the book was more on Roxanne than on Simone’s family, but it would have been nice to have quick mention of them, like there was quick mention of Roxanne’s family. In short, this book is very raw, especially for anyone with any experience with postpartum depression – whether as a sufferer or an observer. But, it’s an excellent read. I would definitely recommend this book.