Book Review - Beyond the Lies
Beyond the Lies by Vanderbilt Brabson III reads like Historical Fiction. This is a story about Love and Passion. Love of family and friends and passion for the one thing in life that means the most to you. Follow the story of Anthony Morgan. Anthony Morgan is an up and coming baseball star who struggles to get through the death of his #1 fan, his father, and has to come to terms with his alcoholism.
The author takes the reader through Anthony's life as a youth, playing sandlot games of baseball with his friends all the way through college as he tries to deal with his father's death the best way he knows how.
Summary:
Beyond the Lies is a wonderful read. The Morgans are a very close-knit, God-fearing family of 3. Anthony Morgan and his father were very close. Whenever possible, Mr. Morgan spent time with Anthony helping him practice and perfect his baseball game. It was his father that Anthony looked up to.
When Mr. Morgan dies of Cancer while Anthony is at a Baseball camp between his Junior and Senior year of high school years he is destroyed. Anthony feels like he has to be strong for his mother so he hides his true grief and tries to deal with it on his own. Unfortunately, Anthony's way of dealing with his grief is with alcohol.
Jesse is Anthony's closest friend. A childhood friend who has always been there for Anthony, Jesse knows him better than anyone. However, she can't even get through to him and get him to open up. Jesse sees a different person when spends time with Anthony.
Anthony is poised to go to nearly any school he chooses on a baseball scholarship but decides to attend the school close to home. Jesse is attending the same school but rarely sees Anthony throughout their college years. Unbeknownst to Anthony, Jesse has pined for him since they were kids. Jesse even makes sure to attend all of Anthony's home baseball games because she wanted to support him from afar.
Jesse confronts Anthony about his drinking but he denies that he has a problem. Finally, one night, as he is ready to turn himself into a rehab facility, he is assaulted by a couple of guys, nearly leaving him for dead. Anthony gets a ride to Jesse's house and begs her to help him. She's a nurse and is able to take care of his wounds. When Anthony asks her to help him get sober, she agrees, makes Anthony agree to her rules.
Anthony and Jesse's relationship goes through a lot of struggles but eventually, they understand each other's true feelings for one another. Anthony's mom has loved Jesse since she was a little girl when she and Jesse's mom were best friends. Therefore, she couldn't be happier to learn that after so many years, her son and the women she loves as a daughter have found each other. As Anthony gets healthy and comes to terms with his illness, he finally understands what's important in his life.
REVIEW:
This story captivated me from the very first couple of chapters. I was immediately invested in the Morgan family as well as Anthony and his relationship with Jesse. I was able to feel emotions that each of them felt for one another as well as for their friend Jesse and her Mother. The author, Vanderbilt Brabson does a wonderful job drawing you in with his quality storytelling.
This story is more than a story of alcoholism. It's more than a story about grief or a simple Love Story. This story has many depths and one of the best stories I've read in quite a while. I felt for Anthony, suffering while learning to live without his father and couldn't wait to find out if or how he would make it through his grief. Knowing how Jesse felt for Anthony added another layer to this story. One that I was also anxious to know the ending.
While there is a happy ending to the story, this story does not read like a predictable story. It was interesting from the beginning. I would definitely recommend this story to any reader.
Until my next review...
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