Freerunner

by Kathy Cassel

[Book Zone Reviews]

For some reason, we are drawn to books or people who have had similar life experiences and that was the case for me with Freerunner. I had no idea what freerunning was before I began the book, but since I love track and field events, I figured I would enjoy it and I did.

Kia is struggling with the aftereffects of being abused as a child. She does this by running at night when all is quiet and the demons of her memories attack. She runs alongside her best friend Thorn. Not just any kind of running, but freerunning. From the description in the book, I got a visual of a combination of parkour and gymnastics, an expression of one's feelings.

I have wanted to run and keep on running, instead of doing it physically like Kia, I did it by reading countless books with happy endings, psychology, self-help books, and the Bible.

She learns that her abuser is going to live with her and her mother. She protests but is not heard. Thankfully Thorn listens and even though he doesn’t have a solution, they come up with a game plan to spend as little time around the abuser as possible.

She joins the track team at school and begins helping coach out at the local church youth group. Despite getting a hard time from the assistant coach and her mother, this plan is somewhat working, until she notices a new little girl being targeted by the abuser, and then all bets are off!

Kathy does a great job of letting us know the ethnicities without coming out and saying so. A couple of books I’ve read lately left me all adrift with no physical hints and since culture is an important part of my reading preferences that left me with an unfinished feeling.

Faith is delicately weaved in as the teenagers struggle with hope versus what their lives have been so far. This quote is a prime example:

“We all face obstacles every day. It might be a math problem you can’t solve. It might be a problem with a teacher or parent. The obstacle might be something that’s happening in your home. Here’s the good news.” Coach holds up a finger and waits to make sure everyone is listening. “God will help you overcome whatever obstacle you are facing. He promises to find a way to take the junk and use it for His good. When you think you can’t overcome what’s holding you back, ask God to help you, to show you the way.”

I watch Coach’s face as he talks. He believes what he’s saying. I don’t know. God helps us overcome obstacles. I wish that were true, but it doesn’t feel that way to me.

– Location 1093, Kindle Version

What I Liked

- I loved the head coach
- Kia and Thorn’s friendship, how he encourages and supports her.
- I loved that the book has many takeaways, a few of which are:
-- Don’t give up on yourself
-- It’s okay to make unpopular choices
-- Family is supposed to love and protect you.
-- Despite what it looks and feels like, God cares about you
- I loved learning about freerunning

What Got Me Hot Under the Collar

- Kia’s mother unconcern/denial
- Kia’s assistant coach's undeserved antagonism

In summation, abuse can make the one who is being abused feel ashamed when he or she has nothing to be ashamed about and then a life of secrets and shame ensues. Nothing like the joyous feeling of Adam and Eve when they were right with God and were naked and unashamed until the first sin and the purity and openness were marred with the feeling of exposure and the need to cover up. After I began speaking up about what happened to me, I felt such a weight removed from me that I didn’t have to avoid questions about my youth or family life.

There is freedom in truth and that is what this book by Kathy Cassel offers to anyone who has been abused or is currently experiencing abuse.

This book can be used by teachers, youth groups, book clubs, family reads, and church groups to help teens and even adults begin to deal with the trauma of abuse.