"Paint Chips"

by Susie Finkbeiner
Review & GIVEAWAY!

5.0 out of 5 stars A journey through healing & redemption

What lies beneath the layers of hurt?

Though haunted by her troubled past, Dot has found a safe haven. She has a fierce protector and a colorful collection of friends...but sometimes she wonders if her life will ever be normal again. Though college and romance await her, embracing them requires a new kind of strength--one she isn't sure she has.

Emerging from years of confusion, Cora struggles to latch hold of the sanity she needs to return to the real world. She yearns to find a place of peace...but first she must deal with the ghosts of her past.

Can this mother and daughter overcome abuse, betrayal, abandonment, and the horrors of sexual trafficking, and make it back into each others arms?

Facing the past is never easy. But as they chip away the layers, they might just find something beautiful beneath the mess.

Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Biography

Susie Finkbeiner is a novelist from West Michigan. Her first novel "Paint Chips" released in 2013 and her second novel "My Mother's Chamomile" in  2014. She worked with WhiteFire Publishing on both novels. 

Susie's third novel "A Cup of Dust" will release Fall, 2015 with Kregel Publications.

Susie is a wife, mother of three, and avid reader. She enjoys time with her family, coffee dates with her good friends, and quiet moments to read and write.

Susie Finkbeiner is represented by Ann Byle from Credo Communications. 

Susie can be reached at her website: http://www.susiefinkbeiner.com/ and Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Susie-Finkbeiner/191087155015?sk=timeline

My Review ~

"Paint Chips" reveals the painful life stories of three women whose lives were very nearly destroyed as young children. Their stories are interwoven in a remarkable manner, each sharing a common thread. Abuse is no stranger to these women as their childhood lives were brutally torn from them, innocence and youth destroyed. These atrocities are all too common in our society, emotional, verbal, physical and sexual abuse. As the stories of these three women unfold realism becomes so profoundly cruel that you'll never see life the same way again. The atrocities of what these women suffered are happening all around us, in the slums, in the suburbs, in our own backyards, even here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Due to the risk of spoilers I am not going into further detail regarding a description of this book.

Susie Finkbeiner has researched a very difficult topic, sex trafficking in all its basal forms, how it begins, where it is found, how it travels, the effects of this ever-growing cancer in our society. This is a Christian reality fiction story that you need to read for yourself. The author is very careful in not becoming graphic in her descriptions of the abuses that occur throughout this story. Openness and honesty are at the core of this difficult tale told with compassion that encompasses the lives described throughout "Paint Chips," and those who reach out to help them. When I took "Paint Chips" off the shelf I knew I was in for a ride into the dark side of life, but I found the hand of God within the pages of this book. At times I felt I couldn't read fast enough, and then I had to stop, lay the book aside, and process the images that raced through my mind. 

The author is very gifted at painting a realistic portrait of life at ground level. Mental images created through her descriptive talents revealed authentic impressions of the various locations throughout the book. The inhumanity of life in its most barbarous form is revealed in a very tasteful and sensitive manner. The brutal honesty in "Paint Chips" occurs in every community, today, tonight, tomorrow and until our society puts a stop to the practice. 

Pick up a copy of this book and educate yourself to the activities going on around you, and take a stand to help cure this cancer of the human spirit. I highly recommend this book, particularly to those who work with children. You could be the one to identify an issue that may be happening to a child in your life.

Disclaimer: I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading pleasure, with no expectations from the author or publisher to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

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