Anastasia and the Ghostly Owl (The Choice Was Hers!)

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Harvard,
Massachusetts.

Anastasia embodies the best of human qualities—exquisite beauty,
intelligence, athleticism, creativity, sensitivity, love, and all that a
good and moral person aspires to be. By contrast, her childhood was a
chaotic and traumatic time during which she suffered the worst physical
and emotional abuse imaginable. As a result, she is emotionally wounded
and suffers fear, low self-esteem, guilt, shame, and depression. She
actively fights these feelings by continuing to study, work, revel in
nature, and compete in sports. She succeeds in accomplishing many
things, ultimately coming to terms with her past through psychotherapy.

The intention of this self-published book is to help victims of abuse
realize their worth and offer them encouragement to make positive
choices in their lives and to seek professional help. Unfortunately, the
disjointed abstract and incoherent metaphorical language used to
describe Anastasia’s life story is confusing and tedious to read. The
long, exaggerated description of Anastasia’s physical and
psychological attributes is especially dull. A concrete and realistic
depiction of her life story may have had more impact. Despite the
picture-book format and the childish illustrations, this is not a
children’s book. Please do not mistake it for one. Not recommended.