Title: Daisy’s Choice
Author: Mike Owens
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Book Blurb:
Nothing left to live for…that's how eighteen-year-old Daisy Sugarbush feels after an explosion inflicts deep burns over seventy percent of her body, condemning her to six excruciating months in the hospital, where her pleas to stop treatment are ignored.
Blind and horribly disfigured, she wishes only to end her wretched life as soon as possible. Starvation should push her ruined body over the edge—the doctors told her as much—which becomes her game plan.
Then a new therapist, Arthur, enters her life with other ideas, but can he succeed where so many others have failed?
My Review:
Daisy gave up on life until Arthur came along. A victim of a horrific explosion, Daisy doesn’t want to live anymore. Most of her body is nothing but burns. She’s confined to a hospital bed where the pain is never-ending. She pleads for the staff to end her life, but they ignore her. Six months later, she’s still in the hospital and all she wants to do is die. What kind of life can she have? She doesn’t understand why no one can help her. She tries starvation which only leads to more pain. She’s given up hope, resigned to being a monster until her new therapist wants her to try something new. Arthur is different from the rest. He sees something in her that not even she does. Can he restore her hope? Can he make her see the joy in the moment, not the agony?
Daisy’s Choice is a heart-wrenching piece of fiction that is full of emotion. Sorrowful, poignant, and illustrative, you’ll weep for Daisy. Bad things happen to good people and this point is made perfectly clear in Daisy’s Choice. I connected with poor Daisy and all the pain she went through. Her strength and fortitude are impressive. The more I read, the more my heart broke for Daisy. The emotional narration will wreck you, like it did me. So much pain, so much grief, it is intricately portrayed throughout the story. Raw emotion is beautifully written throughout the story. Mike Owens takes on a sensitive topic and breathes new life into it. Daisy’s Choice is not a happy story but sheds light on what it means to be hopeful, to take joy in the simple moments. I cried a river of tears so take my advice and keep tissues handy. If you love fiction with a dark edge, pick up Daisy’s Choice. Fans of This is Us and Nicholas Sparks will want to dive into Daisy’s Choice. Highly recommend!
My Rating: 5 stars
Buy it Now:
Author Biography:
Mike Owens was born in a small North Carolina town, nearby Winston-Salem being the closest identifiable landmark. He claims to bleed Tar Heel Blue, having received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He topped off the educational effort with an MFA degree in creative writing from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he now lives his wife, Marilyn, and their dog, Molly, a highly critical eleven-year-old Weimaraner. His topics in fiction vary widely, ranging from science themes to end-of-life ethical dilemmas to erotica...go figure. His last four novels have been published by The Wild Rose Press. His new release, IT HAD TO BE YOU follows a man whose self-destructive behavior leads him into a romantic adventure halfway across the country with a young woman who appears to have been waiting for him all along.
Social Media Links:
Reviewed by: Mrs. N