This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
Maanarak of Grey loves to express her view of the world through deeply moving poetry and other creative endeavors. Her goal is to share her unique perspective of the world and make a living doing so. As someone inspired by other people’s stories, she’s decided to bare her soul for the whole world to read in hopes that someone will find comfort in her words. She loves every form of storytelling from film, spoken word, poetry, and even stand-up comedy. Her love developed from listening to elders sharing stories of their heyday as a child. Listening to stories was one of her favorite pastimes growing up on a small island. Writing became an outlet because as the youngest child in a traditional household, expressing herself freely wasn’t always an option—and pen and paper don’t pass judgement.
Maanarak grew up on Bonaire with her parents and two older sisters. She moved to the Netherlands—where she currently resides—at 19. She studied Tourism and International Development Management. While she enjoyed studies, she always craved a creative career and chose to work on making that dream a reality. She spends her time creating; painting, writing, illustrating, and graphic designing. In the future, she hopes to expand her horizons into fashion design using her own patterns. She hopes her writing will empower readers to unapologetically love and express themselves.
Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite
Growing up is supposed to be a memorable journey for everyone. It is the stage where most people learn how to love, develop their personalities, and embrace their identities. But as many people realize over time, the reality is often disappointing. Unfortunately for some people, this is usually the time they are exposed to toxic and unhealthy relationships. They are manipulated and used, especially those born with a “big heart”. They are questioned about their unique personalities when instead they should be helped to understand and embrace themselves. This affects how they see things and make choices later in life. It is not their fault, but that’s just how the universe works. You can’t change that fact about the world, except there is one thing you can change. Get yourself Maanarak of Grey’s A Tale of Her and learn what exactly it is that you can change and its wonderful impact on your life.
In a succinct and fast read, Maanarak of Grey comprehensively and uniquely addresses a subject that would rather demand ten times the size of A Tale of Her. She blends her poetry and narrative impressively; they both reinforce each other as well as the message. Her choice of words accompanies the reading experience with a pleasant casual tone. This coupled with the use of the second person perspective made it feel like Maanarak of Grey was seated beside me telling me her story. Her words are remarkably sentimental; she did reach my emotions and I felt the pain in her narration. I could feel the impact of her internal conflicts and I deeply understood how it felt to be in her position.
Her story is empowering and serves as an eye-opener. People should accept themselves and learn to love themselves. The artistic picturesque representations of her conclusive thoughts after every main idea in her four chapters were very relevant and they beautifully added color to the book. A Tale of Her is a magnificent piece of work. People who are healing from any type of relationship, those undergoing identity crises, and every other person out there should consider A Tale of Her a must-read. I loved the book.
