Several months ago, I posted a question on Facebook asking my friends for recommendations on good books to read. One of my friends told me that I really needed to read The Ariana Trilogy by Rachel Ann Nunes, an LDS author. I really trust and admire this friend and her judgment, so I began searching for it. I posted it on my wish list on Amazon, but I just couldn't afford to buy it at the time. Two or three weeks ago, I was shopping at my all-time favorite store in Idaho Falls, Book City, which is the used book store. Finally, after months of searching, I found a copy.
At the time that my friend recommended this book to me, my life was pretty good. I had some struggles here and there and definite lack of sleep issues due to having a newborn baby. Anyway, now that I found the book and read the book, I pretty much cried through the entire thing. Yes, I am a sentimental emotional fool. However, that being said, I was totally drawn into the story line and plot with the characters.
The basic overview of the story is as follows. Ariana, the main character lives in Paris. Through her childhood and teenage years, she deals with feelings of being inferior and unloved by her parents. Her twin brother is tragically killed and she rebels into a life of partying...drinking, drugs, etc. She ends up married and expecting a baby. The story goes on...I don't want to give it away. She experiences many many hardships and challenges. She introduced to the missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who teach her of Christ's Atonement and unending love for each of us. She also learns of eternal families. She turns her life around and serves the Lord. Though she faces many trials and struggles through the remainder of the book, she is able to endure them with hope and faith because of her beliefs.
Now, I think everyone that follows this blog knows that I am LDS, so the teachings and messages of the scriptures presented in this novel are my beliefs and I know them. For this reason, I really hesitated with posting a review for this book because I don't in any way want any of my friends to feel like I am pushing my beliefs on them. I love and respect each of you and your own individual beliefs. I just wanted to put that out there. Ok, now that I got the disclaimer out of the way, I will continue.
As I mentioned above, I cried through much of the 600-pages of this book. I have had so many struggles and challenges in my life that, I could just relate to and feel Ariana's pain and sorrows. I completely felt that I could be the main character in this fictional book. Granted, I have never struggled with drug or alcohol abuse or multiple marriages, but so many of Ariana's other struggles parallel my life. Though the book "reopened" some wounds and pains in my life, it truly leaves a strong message of hope, faith, and love. I finished reading feeling uplifted and at peace.
A wonderful read.
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