Honest and touching story of self-discovery

I listened to book 1 and book 3 of the “Golden Sky” trilogy, so of course I had to hear the middle. I have been to Hawaii and I was really curious to hear what her experiences there would be like. The book is quite timely as homelessness is a bigger issue now than it’s ever been and making people aware of it is important. I also wanted to listen to this because Elisa is like me, a geeky person who wears there heart on their sleeve and doesn’t see the world the way most people do. I am also a big fan of shorter listens and this was less than 8 hours, so I got it from Audible.

Elisa does a wonderful job of telling her story of travel and self-discovery. She runs away from her family and friends because of mean things said about her (and problems with her church) and becomes homeless in Hawaii with Kade (her boyfriend at the time). She has lots of interesting, strange and sometimes scary adventures and in the end learns a lot about herself and sees her own inner worth. I have been to Hawaii and even though I was only there about a week, I saw what she was talking about, it’s a tropical paradise there but there is a dark side.

Elisa reminds me a lot of myself. She enjoys fantasy, loves to write, is brave and likes to have adventures and has a fondness for Ernest Hemingway and his Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning novel “The Old Man and the Sea”. She also demonstrates what an amazing musician she is by playing on the street by herself and with Kade on guitar. Elisa shows her amazing strength and resilience time and time again as she faces obstacles and difficult situations (including trying to be initiated into a cult!) and has her faith in people both tested and validated with the people she meets along the journey.

Listening to the final chapter, where she is very brave to share her private thoughts from a journal, hits hard as I knew what would happen to her son, Zeke. Elisa is an amazing person, selfless, kind, generous, brave, resilient and talented. She acts the way I strive to do, seeing the best in people and always looking for the positive. You get quite the ride of emotions listening to this and it’s a microcosm of life, lots of ups and downs. The book is a quick read but is not recommended for children, I would say ages 14+. If you can handle the mature subject matter (some drug use and discussions of sex, including a non-consensual encounter) it’s well worth a listen. An excellent book that leaves you wanting to know what happens next, I wish Elisa all the best, she deserves it.

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