Torn Apart by Diony George

Title: Torn Apart
Author: Diony George
Publisher: Bonneville Books
Published Date: Feb 2009
ISBN#: 978-1599552446
Genre: General Fiction
Paperback; 256 pages

Torn Apart is based on a true story. The author’s story, in fact. Knowing this made reading Torn Apart something of an unusual experience for me.

First, it made me respect the author for being willing to put her story out there for everyone to read. I’m positive that was not an easy thing to do.

Second, it’s one thing to read a person’s own words telling their story in a nonfiction format like an autobiography, another thing entirely to read a fictionalized version. I found myself wondering how much of the detail in Alyson’s story was actual experience and what was added to the story. In the end, though, it doesn’t really matter as much as the fact that what both Alyson and the author experienced was heartbreaking.

Alyson is young and impressionable when she meets her husband. Warning signs were present, but nobody recognized them or knew what they meant until it was too late. With four boys keeping her busy, Alyson doesn’t put together what is going on until the truth is undeniably staring her in the face. Once she does, though, her world is shattered. Each new discovery of what was happening during her marriage gets worse and worse.

Despite everything that happened to her, Alyson retained a certain strength that helped her through her trials. A timely online connection could lead her to happiness again, if she can trust him with her heart.

At the end of the book, the author includes a list of warning signs that could potentially point to pornography addiction. Torn Apart is just one story out of thousands that could be told about the families who have been hurt by addiction to pornography.

My rating:

Overall: 3.5 stars/5

For the author’s efforts to help make others aware of the devastating consequences of pornography addiction, I give 5 stars. While the first half of the book had me interested and turning pages, the storytelling in the last half didn’t really pull me in as much. When Alyson and the new love interest were exchanging emails, the pace of the story dropped significantly and I skimmed several pages until the flow picked up again.

• read it again? Possibly

• recommend it? Yes

• read more by the author? Yes

FTC FYI: I received a review copy of Torn Apart that did not affect my review in any way.