A Book review by Brinas
About the author.
Aimee C. Trafton is an author, writer, poet, blogger, and eLearning Specialist from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Her children’s book, Amber Tambourine and the Land of Laugh-a-Lot, was published in May 2021 (Austin Macauley Publishers USA). It won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award, and was a finalist for the Reader’s Choice Book Award. Her personal essays and stories have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, Autism Parenting Magazine, and her blog, Life Lessons for My Daughter.
The Misfit Crew is part of The Shortish Project, celebrating the short novel at theshortishproject.com
The darkness has neither soul and cannot feel pain. The tragic delirium collapsed in the fissure between life and death. Like an incomplete sculpture, my thoughts appeared to fade away like a whisper.
The days resemble a dark, short-sleeved, worn-out cloak.
The tentacles of instinct cling with fear in the sunrise. Anxiety and sadness wash over me as I struggle. I gather the rays of hope, believing that each new day brings a chance for change.
The story begins abruptly with an email to her deceased mother. Whenever Bay experiences a moment of joy or is in an attractive place, she regrets that her mother cannot be present. Anxiety replaces life. Voices and demons overwhelm her. By day, in the closed space of school hours, or at night in the arms of insomnia and delirium, Bay sinks deeper and deeper into herself.
Through the uncurtained windows, something is evident. The intelligence to understand the problem you have, the courage to fight, and the determination to ask others for help.
And yes, it was about love.
“Come on, little turtle. The passion I feel for him now is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It is electrifying and dizzying and threatens to overwhelm me. Only this time I give in to it. He runs his fingers through my hair. And I feel something I haven’t felt in a long time: safe. The voices in my head are suddenly quiet.”
“Bay discovers that you can never really escape your old life, and that problems will follow you wherever you go – especially when you don’t ask for help.”
It’s lovely to see flowers in every window as if to prove that love can exist even in the darkest of places.
A flock of birds flew there. There is a rustling of leaves—carved wood noise.
Birds sit on my eyelids, allowing me to see the beauty of the earth’s blooms.
I feel so alive! I’m still here.
I read through this story with much interest, which took shape, meaning, and depth in my mind.
This story’s delicate and carefully controlled emotion captivated me with its spontaneity of reflexive gesture.
Aimee C. Trafton achieved this through intense passion, talent, and originality.
https://www.amazon.com/Misfit-Crew-Aimee-C-Trafton/dp/B0BW2WR8Y9
