Monday, May 30, 2022

All That Fills Us Review

 

  


About the Book

Mel Ellis knows that her eating disorder is ruining her life. Everyone tells her rehab is her best option, but she can't bring herself to go. Broken and empty in more ways than one, Mel makes one last-ditch effort to make hers a story worth telling. She will walk her own road to recovery along the lesser-known trails of the North American wilderness.

Though she is physically and mentally unprepared to face the difficulties that lay ahead, she sets off on foot from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and heads toward Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. During the long journey, she meets strangers with their own stories, as well as ghosts from her past who can no longer be ignored. But though the land she travels threatens her success at every turn, it's her own dark thoughts she'll have to overcome in order to find peace in the life and the body she has been given.

With pitch-perfect timing and delightfully witty self-awareness, debut author Autumn Lytle masterfully leads readers on a journey down the hard path toward healing. (Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts

I had mixed emotions when deciding to read this book. I am always excited for debut authors but I knew this book could be heavy. Emotionally I knew it would bring back a lot of memories and painful reminders of my past with my own struggles. This partly is what made me all the more curious on how Lytle would handle a story about a woman who struggles with an eating disorder. 

This story is not at all what I expected but it is so much better than I could have imagined. Mel Ellis is a unique character that is very real and I think that Lytle did a fantastic job writing her journey. Mel decides to walk from Michigan to Washington State. I love how this book didn't take us on a popular trail. The healing and journey that Mel goes on is realistic as her mindset and thoughts don't change over night. Even by the end of the book the reader understands that while healing can happen, the struggles and mental battles don't just disappear and I appreciate that. One of my very favorite parts of this book is all of the people that Mel meets along her walk. The author does a great job of creating real characters and showing how people live differently. I love that all of these people aren't cookie cutter perfect or even what you would expect. The ending of this book is so well done and I wasn't sure I would like it. I think Autumn Lytle has done a fantastic job and I am eager to read her next novel. 


Five Stars. 


"I received this book from Revell for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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