A thousand broken pieces by Tillie Cole
One may be forgiven for thinking that a book with a flowery pink cover complete with a glossy pink heart is going to be a "girly" froth of a book - a lightweight piece of chick-lit. A thousand broken pieces is anything but! When serious themes are highlighted, the immediate concern is whether or not they are handled responsibly enough for a book to be placed into the hands of potentially vulnerable readers. In A thousand broken pieces, the author Tillie Cole handles these themes with insight and care and the resultant book is not only a romantic story but also an offering of many alternate healing pathways for readers who are struggling with loss and grief.
A thousand broken pieces is the follow-up novel to A thousand boy kisses and although they are part of a series, each book can be read independently. Cole wrote the books as part of a personal healing journey after losing members of her family to cancer. Not only was it a method to heal herself, writing the books was also to show others that even after the worst grief, life will go on. Having a BA Hons in religious studies and being a high school teacher and world traveller, gives her some authority to write a book that explores different healing experiences that are offered in different parts of the world through different cultures and religions. An extra bonus is that the reader can travel, with these young people, to five different countries as a part of their unique (and very exclusive) healing journey.
Written from the alternating first-person narrative stances of Savannah (who is suffering anxiety and panic attacks after her sister's death from cancer) and Cael (who has anger management problems after his brother committed suicide), the book traces their journey (and the journey of other young participants) towards recovery through the Lakes District of England, Norway, Goa, Agra and Varanasi-India,The Philippines and Japan. Each country offers something different in the therapy process. The grief-struck young people experience extreme physical exertion while mountain climbing where they are pushed to their limits in order to develop resilience and grit and a sense of achievement. They witness awe-inspiring beauty and a sense of something greater than themselves. They witness the ritual celebrations of death in India and the extreme poverty and losses of children in the Philippines. They witness the beauty and transience of cherry blossom in Japan and take part in Kintsugi classes in Japan where they discover the beauty in brokenness. Intertwined throughout is the developing romace between Savannah and Cael.
Tillie Cole drags the emotion out of the reader. The prolonged agony and struggle depicted and the delicate but unflinching style may just provide the catharsis that young readers suffering huge emotions may need. At times, this hardened reader felt a sob catching in the throat. Like it or not, this style of writing has launched Tillie Cole into becoming a global sensation, charting on New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and becoming a viral sensation online.
The overarching message (this reader infers) is that when recovery from loss is not happening and a person is not responding to the usual counselling, a break away from the usual environment, placement in totally different environments with new companions coupled with expert professional support may be the way to go.
I know that this book will be a great pleasure and also helpful for young people to read.
Themes: Death, Suicide, Grief and loss, PTSD, Recovery, Romance.
Wendy Jeffrey