Days of relaxing by the pool with a good book are finally upon us!
With the advent of the summer season, we’re excited to roll out a Summer Reading Series. We’ll be reading several books and providing you with a summary. If you decide you want to read for yourself, we’ll give you a way to purchase the book at the end of each article.
We hope this helps make your summer a little brighter. After all, who doesn’t love a good book? Happy reading!
Title: The Bond We Share Authors: Patrick Butler and Melyssa Fleming
I first met one of the authors (Melyssa) at my gym. At the time, I was going through a pretty dark period of my life. I hated my job, I had gained weight since the birth of my daughter and COVID was beginning to take hold on my work and social life.
Melyssa (or as I know her, “Sunny”) definitely lived up to her nickname. No matter how hard I attempted to workout alone and live in my own dark bubble, she wouldn’t allow it. She was a force for good in my world and refused to let me have a bad start to my day.
A friendship was born. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the challenges she faced as a child helped shape her into the kind and tenderhearted adult she would become.
The Bond We Share is not an easy read. The book itself is easy to digest. With its conversational approach, you’ll have no problem putting yourselves in the shoes of the story tellers.
It’s the subject matter you’ll have difficulty with.
The book is written from the perspectives of a brother (Patrick) and his adopted sister (Melyssa). The story starts out happy enough. Melyssa is adopted and brought into Patrick’s world as his new sister.
She not only becomes a playmate to Patrick, a special bond is quickly formed. A bond that would be difficult to sever completely, no matter what obstacles were placed in their path.
Due to a set of circumstances and parental decisions that are both heartbreaking and cruel, Melyssa eventually landed in foster care and was cut off from her brother Patrick.
She’d spend the next 10 years of her childhood in various foster homes where she encountered happiness, abuse and sadness. All the while, she’d wonder what her brother was doing and how his life was unfolding.
Patrick was distraught when Melyssa was instantly removed from his life. One day he had a sister who he loved, the next day he didn’t. She was eight years old, he was ten. Both were far too young to be dealing with the difficult emotions that arise from trauma and anguish.
As is always the case, life moves forward, even if it’s not in the way we would always like. For Melyssa, things had gotten so bad with one set of foster parents that a trip to a psychiatric ward was a welcome relief from the abuse. Hers was not a life you’d wish on any child.
Physical and mental torment followed her in a way that makes you question the very fabric of mankind.
Patrick had his own demons. Guilt ridden from their parting and the way his parents had handled the situation, he became depressed and angry. The range of emotions he was carrying from the sudden loss of his sister had created a cavernous pit of despair.
This was left unchecked until later in life, when he finally faced his demons after experiencing problems in his marriage.
Things that happen in our childhood have a way of shaping who we are. We often use these as reasons or even excuses for our behavior and decisions later on in life. The Bond We Share dispels this notion.
Both Melyssa and Patrick had every reason to give in, becoming embittered and lost in their melancholy. They had been dealt a difficult hand for different reasons. They could’ve easily decided to forge a path of hatred, negativity or self harm.
Instead, they ended up finding their way and each other, eventually rekindling their love and special bond.
The Bond We Share is a story of resilience and hope built from tragedy and parental cowardice.
We follow Melyssa and Patrick in the twists and turns of their life and eventually end up on the right side of happiness. You will come away feeling sadness and anger but also an incredible sense of contentment and love by the end of their story.
Life is messy. This book explores the darkest depths of depravity while eventually pulling you into the warm embrace of a loving sibling.
It’s as though the sun shone down upon your soul by the end, providing you with a ray of hope in our shared human experience.
This shouldn’t be surprising. There’s a reason Melyssa’s nickname is Sunny.
Where to Buy: Amazon
