Rise

August 8, 2016
In this honest, tough memoir, Brooking documents how building a home for herself and her four children created a pathway out of domestic abuse and into a new life. One of her husbands suffered from schizophrenia; her next husband drank heavily, used drugs, and, within a few months of their wedding, began abusing the author. Brookings, a computer analyst based in Little Rock, Ark., calls herself an optimist, noting she always “believed things would get better.” Brookings, as well as her children, lived in fear even after the author’s divorce. Selling the family home was a financial necessity. During a family outing over Thanksgiving, Brookings spots her dream home. Though recently ravaged by a tornado, the once “regal and very Southern home” plants a seed in her consciousness. “Why couldn’t I build a house?” The narrative alternates between describing the fear her children and the author lived with for years with the complications and rewards of building a home from the ground up with no experience. Brookings finds land, obtains a loan, and sets out with the help of her four children to build their new home in nine months. Brookings deftly narrates the extreme learning curve the family experienced during the construction process, while putting a family back together again. Agent, Jessica Papin; Dystel & Goderich Literary.

May 1, 2017

Brookins narrates her own book, turning events from her life into a fascinating story. This is typical of Brookins's do-it-yourself attitude toward life. While her four children were still reeling from her ex-husband's abuse and descent into schizophrenia, the author decided they needed a confidence-building project: a new house, one constructed with their own hands where they could escape the memories still alive in their old home. Interspersed with sad and painful stories from Brookins's experiences with her deeply troubled husband is her unflinching chronicle of the new home, from idea to loan to foundation to sheetrock. For nine months, the author acted as her own contractor and plumber while her four children were her work crew. While Brookins's reading is sometimes a bit too staid for the events, listeners will appreciate that she does not overdramatize. Her humor and solid descriptions will cause them to hang on every word to see what happens next. VERDICT Highly recommended for all public libraries and university browsing sections.--Karen Perry, Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VA

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