Book Review: The Other Side of Darkness

Book Written by Melody Carlson  
Review by Michelle Sutton  

The Other Side of Darkness is a powerful, but dark novel about a woman battling with mental illness. You as the reader are in her head, so you see the world the way she sees it. That makes the book a hard read because – who wants to feel like they are going crazy, right? But, it is good in other ways because it helps give the reader insight into people who suffer from severe OCD.

The troubling thing about this story is that it sweeps you away. And while that shows the author did a great job with characterization, you also start to feel the frustration and all that goes with it. Also, there are a lot of people who believe similar things who are Christians.  How do you sort that all out? The main character seemed to be a Christian and she knew the Scriptures, but then she was influenced by her OCD.

I admired that Ruth prayed a lot, but then things took a dark turn and though she kept praying she only got sicker.  It makes you wonder if she was seeking the Lord with her whole heart, which it appears that she was.  So, why did the cultish group gain so much power over her mind? I think it went back to her childhood issues. They made her vulnerable to compliments and needing to feel wanted, which this weird church was good at making her believe.

As the story progressed it almost seemed like rather than casting demons out, Ruth was bringing them home with her! Now I am not a person who believes there is a demon under every bush, but there is such a thing as oppression. It was true that her church friends gave more attention to the enemy than the Savior, and that was a bad thing.

But it still bothers me that she was so sincere, yet it was wrapped up in her illness. So how does one know whether they are hearing from God, or just losing their mind? In this story, Ruth spent most of her time listening to other people tell her about what the Bible said so they shaped her thinking. It seemed like whenever the Bible was read apart from the "cultish church" it worked to bring health and life to Ruth's family.

The bottom line is that this was an unsettling, but powerful read. I didn't feel much hope, however, or I'd rank it higher. In real life there are not always happy endings, but in this case that could've been elaborated on more so the reader isn't left feeling bummed despite the good things that happened. That's the tricky part about writing a story with dark themes. The light has to shine brighter so the reader feels hope. And yes, there is some hope offered, but I'm not sure it's enough, because I never got the sense that Ruth ever really heard from God by the story's end. Hope that makes sense. Read it for yourself and then you decide.

About the reviewer:  Michelle Sutton is dubbed the Edgy Inspirational Author. Her website can be found at www.michellesutton.net and her popular blog is at http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com.

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