Page 4 of 6
There are currently 39 member reviews
for Rise
-
Carolyn A. (Katy, TX)
Rise. How a House Built a Family
I enjoyed the first third of the book and then I begin to find the events, though different, becoming repetitious and annoying. I stopped reading about one third of the way through, So sorry.
-
Monica P. (Cleves, OH)
Inspiring
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story of a family who beat the odds after living with domestic violence and mental illness. Although at times it seemed a little bit too simplified, I appreciated their tenacity and loved the way it brought them together in a healing way.
-
Jill F. (Blackwood, NJ)
mind blown
All I can say is wow! I can't even get my kids to clean their rooms and Cara gets hers to build a house? I can't imagine undertaking a task like that. What were they thinking? She's either one of the strongest, fearless and determined women on the planet, or out of her damn mind! I haven't decided. It was fascinating "watching' the family work together to get this done. Their struggles with Adam highlight the failings of our mental health system. I can't imagine being in that situation, trying to protect yourself and your children while having empathy for the person with the illness. I guess next to that building a house is child's play
-
Julia A. (New York, NY)
"You can do anything"
It is somehow fitting that I would be reading "Rise" in October, which among other monthly designations, is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Women react in many ways to intimate partner abuse. In Cara's case, she had not one, but two abusive husbands. She also had four children to consider. Once she had finally disentangled from the consecutive abusive situations, her solution for healing the family was to build a new home from the ground up. Her plan was quixotic in the extreme, since none of them knew anything about construction. However, Cara was nothing if not resourceful, and she managed to convince a bank to lend to her and set out to learn all she could. Her children signed onto the plan, with the three oldest being active member of the construction crew and the baby enlisted for some simple tasks. Who knew one could learn so much about building a house from YouTube videos? The intrepid Cara and her kids found that out. Granted, there were times when they had to enlist experts, such as for the electrical work, but mostly, the family did everything. By so doing, they grew as a family and healed from their past. The story is inspirational, and largely positive. I admit to being sometimes distracted when the narration would suddenly shift back in time, but once I got used to that, I realized it served perhaps better than a strictly chronological recounting might have. Toward the end, at a point when Cara is questioning whether all the sacrifices they'd made in the year of building were worth it, she overhears Drew (her older son) tell Jada (her younger daughter), "You built your own damn house, you can do anything." For Cara, and for the reader, that is a culminating moment. Cara knows and we know, that the house built the family as much as the family built the house.
-
Barbara C. (Fountain Hills, AZ)
Rise, How a House Built A Family
A remarkable story of one woman, her 3 young children and her tenacious drive to "self-build" a home on a shoe-string budget. With the help of only the internet and a few professionals, together they designed, lugged, nailed and finished a 3 car, two story home in less than a year. Cara Brookins, the plucky author, survived two disastrous, abusive marriages to make the incredible decision to start anew with her 2, 11 and 17 year old children. The story is told in alternating chapters: Rise, the chapters of the slow, but sure erection of their "hands-on" house as they suffered through peaks and valleys of construction; and Fall the chapters of her manic husband threatening, abusing and stalking her. The book is written with pathos, wit and clarity, easy to read and hard to put down. It would be interesting to hear comments from a contractor regarding her ability to successfully "raise the roof", install the plumbing, and obtain inspectors' approval in such short a time. Despite the arduous tasks, Brookins finds humor in describing the bumbling helpers she recruits, the pot-smoking electricians, and the antics of her 2 year old playing in the mud on site. Book clubs would revel in her ingenuity in Rise chapters and cringe at the abuse of her husbands in the Fall chapters. Good work, Cara. You are a survivor!
-
Terri C. (Litchfield, NH)
How A House Built A Family- Rise
This story captured the human spirit to rise above the difficulties and challenges life often presents as we meet Cara and her four children Drew, Roman, Jada and Hope as they seek to rebuild a normal life after living in a home where domestic abuse was the norm in their early years.
Fortunately, few of us have experience with domestic violence but are brought to an understanding of the horror and scars that may remain long after as the author takes us through the day to day thinking that goes on in the minds of the abused long after the abuse has stopped. Yet it is a story of resilience and strength to overcome that is told, giving us hope that where there is a will to not only survive, but to thrive, we will see people rise above their circumstances and become what we are intended to be. Our best selves always prevail if we honor the truth within and cultivate the desires and dreams of the future we seek.
A well written book that left me more compassionate towards people who have lived though experiences I have not. Reading this book will make me a better person more able to connect on a level that previously I did not have the sensitivity or knowledge needed to be capable of understanding what a life of domestic violence can do on the day to day impressions of life moving forward from the wreckage of the past.
-
Claudia C. (Liberty Township, OH)
Rise
An uplifting story about courage and determination of a women and her four children. I applaud her! What an inspiration. The author also gives the reader insight into mental illness and our mental health system. I found it a little hard to believe some of the things they accomplished and coordinated; but was impressed.
