Saving Takara

By: Takara James

Narrated by: Abigail Rakocy

This audiobook is about me, my life, and how I didn't allow the circumstances of my life to stop me from being great! Though my story is not finished, what I've learned over the years has placed me where I am and will take me far!

28 years, two deceased parents, and one ex husband later, she realizes that life as she once known it is not the same and never will be. With the constant anxiety of not knowing what tomorrow may bring, distance relationships with friends and family, she's singled out in the world and having to figure things out on her own.

How can I save myself? How can I protect my heart? How can I be better for me? These are many questions she's asked herself and first hand the world get's to see exactly how she revives her broken heart and finds true happiness from within. The cliche "Trouble don't last always" seems to be a distant voice in her head, and along with prayer, hard work, and dedication, she realizes in the end that the only heart that is worth saving, the only life that is worth saving, the only love that is worth saving, is that of her own!

©2018 Takara James (P)2019 Takara James

Not great, but easy to listen

This story was about a young, Christian woman who had great parents that passed away when she was young.

She endured sexual abuse from multiple unfortunate circumstances, which are not disclosed until the end of the story. Being the abuser and being victimized by abuse, along with wrist cutting and depression resulted from sexual abuse.

Weight gain, infertility, and miscarriages caused by PCOS contributed to her insecurities so she spent time and money on men who didn’t reciprocate that back.

At the beginning of this story, Takara sounds like a whiny, spoiled child. As the story continues, you slowly learn more about her, which then helps the listener understand why she acted the way she did. Christianity is brought up a lot, so this story may not be for those who are not deeply religious. Good story overall.

Personal journey of finding and saving oneself

Overall the story is captivating. I am not “deeply religious” I’m an atheist but the mention of the normal Christian values and beliefs mentioned as a theme in this book weren’t at all of consequence to enjoying the story.

The audio narrator starts off a little rough but she finds her voice after a few minutes so give her a chance.
The good:
The chapter by chapter story was interesting. I wasn’t bored but I did want to grab Takara and shake her a few times. Takara is raw in her emotions and retelling of her life during her marriage. It’s real and not one bit sugar coated. The absolute vulnerability of her journey is what made this story good.

The bad:
The ending is very revealing of a troubled past that wasn’t tied in very well through the chapters. There wasn’t much foreshadowing or hints to say that the events that were transpiring were tied to a very very troubled history. It felt like a rushed closure to the story.

Overall this story takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. All directed at the protagonist who makes mistake after mistake. The ability to self reflect throughout the retelling was excellent. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it is short sweet and to the point but also leaves you wanting more information a longer story but that is always true with good books.