Title: Destiny Lives On Fairhaven Street
Author: C.J. Hudson
Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction
Book Blurb:
What would you sacrifice for a chance to win back your first love?
Danielle and I were both ten when we fell in love as neighbors on Fairhaven Street. We spent three amazing years together. Despite my "ugly duckling" appearance, lack of confidence and a family with three generations of abuse, she loved me. Being with her exposed me to a life I never thought possible.
I was forced to move out of state to escape my father. On my last day with Danielle, I gave her a pendant necklace of half of a broken heart. and a promise that I would come back for her when I grew up. I kept the matching pendant.
For seven and a half years, until I was twenty years old, I remained faithful to her. I never took my half of the pendant off, causing it to rust. She was the inspiration that guided me to become the man I am today. I broke the cycle of violence so that she would never have to experience it.
All I ever wanted was one date. We were too young then, but now I was grown up. After almost eight years, I was standing outside her front door, the promise kept.
For years I was told that what I was doing was crazy, that there was no way she would remember me let alone love me after so long. The only question was, who would be right?
My Review:
Love is powerful enough to move mountains, but can it break the cycle of violence and bring him back to his beloved Danielle? We all have our first loves, the ones we met at a young age, the ones who got away, the ones we will never forget. But what if you were a second chance to be with your first love? What would you be willing to do to not only be with your first love but build a life and a family free from the violence you grew up with?
Destiny Lives On Fairhaven Street is a poignant, beautifully-written romantic memoir about one man's journey from a scared, abused boy to an insecure teen to a confident man ready to be with the one person who loved him unconditionally. From the beginning, my heart went out to C.J. and his terrifying childhood. To be bullied over lunch money, to live in a constant state of fear over a beating from his father, to never know the joy of being young and carefree. All that changes for our hero when he meets the girl next door and they fall in love. For three blissful years, he learns love doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t demand penance for being born, but rather, love is the outpouring of devotion and care without asking anything in return. The road our hero travels is fraught with obstacles but it’s all part of his incredible story. Inspiring, motivational, heartbreaking prose propels the plot and the reader has no choice but be moved. The author writes with naked honesty not seen in nonfiction in some time. The writing grabs the reader and they become part of the story. Part memoir, part romantic love story, Destiny Lives On Fairhaven Street is a powerful triste on love in all forms. If you only read one book this year, let it be this one. Fans of Nicholas Sparks will simply adore Destiny Lives On Fairhaven Street. Highly recommend!
My Rating: 5+ stars
Author Biography:
With a shaved head, hazel eyes and a salt and pepper beard stacked atop a barrel-chested frame, C.J. Hudson is a well-disguised hopeless romantic. One would not see him as the type of person expected to do something as bold as remain celibate his entire young adulthood for his first love. One would not confuse him for a man who would return to her after being forced to move away with the intent of winning her back. Yet that is exactly what the Disabled Navy Veteran did. Residing in Pflugerville, Texas, he enjoys the result of his journey in the form of a successful marriage and twin sons. The story of his amazing life, written to his sons, will be chronicled in the upcoming "Fairhaven Series".
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Reviewed by: Mrs. N