Lucky by Alice Sebold ***

If you liked The Lovely Bones there's no guarantee you'll like Lucky. Instead of a novel, this is a real-life account (memoir, as it states on the cover) of Sebold's rape and how it affected her life. The first chapter is not for the faint of heart; after reading it at 10:30pm I found myself shaking with the fear of the reality of what I'd just read until 1:30am ... even tried the old "rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, sparkle tights and Puma socks, brand new fleece blanket" trick and it didn't work for hours. But, the good news is, it gets better from there. As difficult as rape is to recover from (I honestly didn't realize how devastating this crime can be until I saw how it played out in the course of her life), Sebold's account is one of recovery and, if her story itself wouldn't be defined as "triumphant," her writing and publishing of it is, at the very least, courageous. She doesn't pull punches and the rose colored glasses come off. And I admired her for that.

There is just something about her writing style, even in this altered format, that pulls me in and absorbs me. I would say I would just read for 15 minutes and the next time I looked at the clock, I would be shocked to see 45 minutes had just flown by.

So, if you're not sure if you should read this or not, I would tell you: "Maybe." Read the first two chapters, and see how you like it. If not, put it down and count your blessings that this isn't your life. But if you need a reminder of how lucky you are, then read and give thanks.