This review is for The Awakening of Russell Henderson, By Ed Lehner. Published by Aia Publishing. I would consider it a fictional, contemporary romance. The book length is 338 pages. The publication date is November 22, 2018.
*** I received a kindle version of this book from a giveaway on Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. ***
I give this book a 4/5 Star rating.
Key thoughts:
I enjoyed this story. I found the “spiritual” journey very enlightening. The growth of the protagonist during his travels was really well done.
Review:
This is the story of a man, who following an “out of the blue” divorce, finds himself in a deep depression. Going home to his family does not help, and in a spur of the moment decision he buys a camping van and sets off to see the west. While there are moments that really bring home the message of growth and had deep insight, like visiting a reservation and experiencing a sweat or the understanding through learning about meditation; there are also some moments that were just too far-fetched and bothered me by how they were written. In an example, for being a man in his thirty’s to never have had Mexican food or hear a woman cuss would fit better with an off the grid family life, not someone who has gone to university, received an MBA, and has lived in Chicago. There are several of these types of “firsts” for Russell that really drove me crazy while reading this book.
Hanna is an interesting character. She has great advice to give, but has her own issues that she is is still learning how to deal with. She provides a steady hand when things get rough for Russell. The growth of their affection was quirky but nice. It wasn't heavy on romance but had a slow build that kept things interesting. Her home life with her family is so much different from how Russell’s family behaved that it really opened his eyes about how sheltered his upbringing was. The twist at the end was interesting but almost went too fast after the pace of the rest of the story. All in all, it was a good book and a good, quick read.
I hope you will check out this book and that you enjoy reading this story as much as I did. After you read it, let me know what you think!