When I wander down the aisle at my local library I am often drawn to a particular book. This was the case with Unlikely Angel. Frankly, after reading it I am not sure why.
Ashley Smith tells her story about when she was taken hostage in 2005 by courthouse killer Brian Nichols in March of 2005. She spent seven hours with this man and survived the ordeal at her apartment in Atlanta, Georgia.
I liked the fact that it was a true story told by the hostage and was looking forward to it. However, I have to say it was like watching a bad movie where you really want to reach out and change it. The book gets right into the night of her abduction in her apartment. The sequences of events themselves are interesting, but throughout she reflects upon her life, which at times made me cringe. She speaks of her marriage as if it was wonderful but admits he was abusive and into drugs. Ashley also continuously tells Brian Nichols about her daughter whom she loves but does not have custody of because of her drug use. She does describe herself as a recovering drug user but was using the day of the abduction. She seemed to have opportunity to leave the apartment but choose to stay. Ashley does say that she wanted to defuse the situation so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone else. That may be true, but the story came off as redundant at times and a little strange. I couldn’t help but question some of her decisions.
Having not been in her shoes I don’t know how she felt and what she must have gone through, but I do rely on the writing to guide me there and it came up short. I read nonfiction so that I can see the lives of others even if for a short time and in this case I was unimpressed.
No comments:
Post a Comment