Review of Chocolate Days & Shadows by Bonnie Doss

Bonnie Doss's debut book, Chocolate Days & Shadows, is an account of her life as an abused child and adult, her heroic attempt to save herself and her reconnection to God. All told in a storytime setting to her granddaughter, Ashley and later joined by her son, Steve (Ashley's father), and daughter Jackie. At the age of two, little Bonnie Elaine was dropped off at her aunt and uncle's by her alcoholic mother who needed space to find herself. I enjoyed the East Texas dialect this story is written in, and the playful relationship between little Bonnie and Uncle Ben. They both longed to live with gypsies and sing with the "MexCans" that picked cotton in Uncle Ben's field.

There are intervals in each chapter where Bonnie interacts with her family - to share and heal - before heading back down memory lane. When Bonnie's mother claimed her at the age of ten, she was subjected to harsh abuse such as being tied to a chair and beaten until she passed out. For the first time in her life, little Bonnie felt unloved and couldn't understand why. She then left home shortly after turning 18, and experienced the same abuse from her second husband. One chapter is dedicated to Jackie's report of her sexual molestation by the same man.

It's heart-warming and at the same time heart-wrenching. It'll leave anyone wondering how children survive such cruelty and live to raise their own offspring with tenderness. This testimony had me in awe of Bonnie Doss's strength, her courage to remain hopeful and her will to survive. Chocolate Days & Shadows is a must read for anyone who cares for youngsters and needs to heal from childhood wounds.

Reviewed by Elaine Kelson for Roses and Thorns