She Is Mine

By Stephanie Fast

 

Imagine. Imagine that everyone around you treats you differently from others. Imagine that they call you "tougee" and even though you don't understand what the word means, you know how it makes you feel.  Imagine that you are abandoned by your family, left on a train...alone. Imagine that you have to make your way in the world and that nobody will help you. Imagine that you have to survive harsh winters, dig up, catch or steal food and make clothes out of straw for warmth. Now imagine that at the start of your journey you are only four years old.

In her new book She is Mine, author Stephanie Fast takes her readers on an emotional roller coaster as she describes in horrifying detail the trying ordeal she endured as a young girl struggling to survive in South Korea following the Korean War. The daughter of an American soldier and an unwed Korean mother, this nameless child is unwanted and unwelcomed not just by her family, but by everyone she meets.  

As you read this account, you will not help but become emotionally involved in the story, turning page after page, praying for a good outcome, for someone to take notice.  As a parent your heart will ache for this child, for the physical and emotional trauma she suffers and the innocence that is lost. You will shed tears of sorrow as you are reminded of the tender young age of the one suffering. You will want to hold onto your own children tightly and vow again to shield them from all the darkness of this world. As a human being you will be enraged at the countless abuses she endures by total strangers simply because she was born of the wrong parents. Through it all, your soul will give thanks as you see the hand of Providence in the rare kindnesses shown and rejoice as she comes to know the One Who loved her when nobody else did.

In many ways, this book would be at home on a shelf in the “Horror” section of a book store because it is truly a horror story. It is also a story of survival, of living, when it seems impossible. Perhaps, the most compelling (and the most horrifying thing) about it is that it is a true story. It really happened. It still happens today. Ms. Fast writes “At this moment, there are an estimated 143 million orphans throughout the world who have been abandoned or abused. All are crying out or a caring person to deliver them from the hands of their oppressors.”

If you are not prepared to be moved… if you are not prepared to be shaken to the core with abundant emotion, do not read this book. However, if you are willing to open your mind to the plight of millions of children, then pick up this book. Sit down, open it, read it, weep, mourn and prepare to be changed as your mind is made aware not just of tragedy but also of hope that exists all around you.

This reviewer highly recommends that you take the chance to be moved and read this book.



This review was submitted by Kristin  - Kristin is a wife, homeschooling mom and the founder of The Book Trotter.  She wrote her first review over 20 years ago and has been reading and loving books ever since.