Indie Review, Scattered by Kelly Herdrich

Indie Review:  Scattered, by Kelly Marselle Herdrich

I took a chance when I downloaded this book. It didn't look like something I would normally go for, but I downloaded the free preview, bought the Kindle edition, and I'm very happy about my purchase. The book deals with very sensitive issues, and was hard to read at times because the subject matter was so true to life. Alzheimer's is a horrible disease, and something my family has had to deal with. "Scattered" tastefully depicts one family's story as they cope with the disease, death, and faith.

Who will like this book?  Scattered is a full length book that takes place in the past and "present."  From one end of the spectrum you will be introduced to Paul and Grace.  There are many characters throughout the book, but Paul and Grace always felt like the main characters in my point of view.  Together, they deal with Paul's sister's illness, and despite Grace's impending marriage to another man, Paul has fallen in love with her.  On the other end of the spectrum you will be carried into the "present" to the year 2000.  Here, you will meet Grace again, shortly after the death of her husband.  Grace and her children, as well as her grandchildren, must cope with Grace's illness, Alzheimer's, a progressive form of presenile dementia that results in memory loss and behavioral changes.

Personally, I liked the alternating time-swaps that occur after each chapter of the book, the realistic portrayal of Alzheimer’s disease, and the positive messages spread throughout the story.  The chapters bounce back and forth from the past to the present, taking turns telling the story and progression of events, making it easy to keep reading.  We sometimes forget, or find it hard to believe, that our parents and grandparents used to deal with issues much like our own, so it's nice to read a story that depicts a story from two different time periods.

All of us will face tragedy at some point in our lives, and we all share a common end, called death.  How we deal with death can influence the way we live our lives.  Scattered is an educational story as well as inspirational, and by allowing ourselves to follow the lives of the family members depicted within this story we might also be able to take away valuable life lessons.  However, I'm not trying to come off as preachy, because this story delivers its message like all good stories should, by being entertaining.

Download a free sample of Scattered at Amazon.

Read Kelly Herdrich's blog at Kelly Without a Net.

You can also visit Kelly at Yahoo! Contributor Network, here.