Author: Ama Pomaa
Date Published: 2017
Date Read: August 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-9988-2-5625-8
Pages: 251
Publisher: Hetura Books
Reviewed By: Nana Afoa Selorm
About the Book
Seven years ago, Jasmine left everything she knew behind. Her mother had killed herself, her father was terminally ill, and she had broken Hagan, the only man who ever loved her. It was the perfect time to start over.
Except she never parted with any of it.
When a tragic incident forces her back into the past, she’ll have to decide if letting go is too high a price to pay for everything she want.
Review
If there is a book that would get you so glued to your seat for hours just to satisfy a curiosity or suspense it is A TIME TO PART. The book is a Christian novel comprising twenty-eight chapters. Each chapter is well-ordered with a series of events. It is amazing how every chapter plays its own roles in making up the book without an overlap that will cause a reader to wonder what particular idea the chapter is trying to deliver to the reader. It is a book that engages the writer in a personal dialogue and an uncontrollable urge to read on and on. Honestly, there is nothing that could even be considered as an insignificant error except the uncertainty of if Kojo was also sexually-abused by his father after Jasmine finds the letter their father left.
The author states in her notes that the novel is inspired by a story she heard about a child who is sexually abused by her father. She tells her mother about it but to save face, she keeps it to herself.
The main theme of the book is forgiveness though it focused on sexual abuse. Briefly, the book talks about a young girl who is sexually abused by her father. Her brother fails to stand by her and mother refuses to make it known to protect her marriage and eventually commits. Her father accuses her suitor of rape, which she could do nothing about. With heartache, she cuts ties with anything that has to do with her family. However, her past catches up to her seven years later as she finds herself in a deja vu with a young girl. In the end, her present becomes her mirrored past.
Main Characters
Jasmine Morrison: A young lady who is sexually abused by her own father, but it is disregarded by her mother to sustain her marriage, who eventually commits suicide. She lives a promiscuous life of one night stands to prove to herself and her late father that she was really free from him. She avoids any kind of commitments as her father ruins the life of the only man who loved her, which she spends almost her whole life correcting.
Kojo Morrison: The brother of Jasmine who lives with the guilt of not defending his sister when she needed him. He loses his pregnant wife to a gang of thieves and spends his time seeking for the perpetrators as a police officer and an angry husband. He also is unable to let go of the memory of the house-help he impregnates but leaves unconscious after trying to get rid of the baby.
Hagan: He travels on a scholarship abroad after Jasmine’s father accuses him of rape and ruins his medical opportunities. He returns after seven years as a successful doctor but is confronted with the past he is falsely accused of.
Doris: She becomes a successful teacher after she is lured by Kojo, her boss’ son and impregnated. She still carries her baby and delivers a baby girl.
Eva: Kojo’s wife, a staunch christian, who is murdered through eight months of her pregnancy after countless miscarriages.
Greg: An armed robber who kills Eva believing he is satisfying his fiance, Doris, desire.
Selase: She is a house-help who is sexually abused while her aunt and uncle receive money from her abuser, and is forced to accuse her boss.
DSP Ato: Pays to have sexual access to a little girl but will watch his sister’s husband take the blame.
Conclusion
Despite the pain and trauma, the characters were able to forgive all the bad they suffered. This teaches that despite everything, forgiveness is key and the ultimate. It may not be easy but that is what gives real peace of mind. This is a lesson I think the society needs to be imparted with.
Recommendation
This book will serve as a guide to any one who has experienced or is going through a sexual abuse. It teaches where the real content in life lies- forgiveness. I also highly recommend this book to parents, especially those with daughters.
Author:
The Book Review 