Good morning everyone! Today, I have a book I want to share with you, called Broken Pieces. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again — if brain fog permits, books can be a spoonie’s best friend. Honestly. You know what? I lost my Goodreads challenge this past year. But you know why I lost it? Because this past year, I had much less time to read because I was feeling so much better overall. It’s kinda sad, but oh well. The previous year, I read over 130 books. No wonder fictional references creep into my writing so much! As every author says, though, “You want to be a writer? Read.”

Anyway. I could go on and on about reading, but instead, I shall cut myself off so that I can talk about a particular book I think you should read. 😉

A few months ago, I got a message from someone I hadn’t talked to much before. She was kind, and she asked me if I would beta read her novella. She wanted to make sure that she had portrayed the emotions of what it’s like to have a chronic illness correctly. I haven’t signed up to beta read in a long time unless it’s someone who has done it for me or who I know really well. I’m just usually so busy, it wouldn’t be fair for me to say I’d do it but not follow through. But the premise intrigued me, and it was only a novella . . . I’m so glad I said yes!

Broken Pieces was great! It ripped my heart out repeatedly, made me cry,  and left me beaming at the ending. The ending was actually my favorite part. As I got closer and closer, I kept wondering how Lindsi was going to wrap it up in such little space, but she did an amazing job. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but the plot twist was perfect. Broken Pieces was also easy to read and follow (another plus for the spoonies!). It touched my heart.

And for the record? She did an AMAZING job portraying the emotions of what it’s like to go through a chronic illness. Nevermind the fact that the character’s malady is fantasy. It was still so relatable to me.

Of course, because of that, this book also doesn’t skirt around hard topics. This book isn’t for the sensitive reader.

Content warnings (contains slight spoilers):
-MC contemplates suicide, takes steps to commit it, but does not.
-MC suffers from immense internal pain
-Some scuffles
-Mentions of previous physical abuse
-One character is an ex-prostitute. Men harass her, but she is rescued.
-Character gets drunk

Catherine DeLacey lives in a world where mental and emotional traumas manifest as glass-like shards that grow inside of people’s chests. Faced with lives full of suffering, many turn to specialists to have their shards surgically removed.

Catherine’s shard is too large for even the most skilled surgeons to handle safely.

Unable to live with the agony any longer, Catherine plans to take her own life until a close friend tells her the story of a woman who had a similar shard removed successfully by a mysterious source. Armed with this new hope, Catherine sets out on her journey, but as her time runs out, that hope begins to die.

Will she find a way to remove her shard? Or will she give in to despair?