Hearing Voices

Rating:
Summary: This Memoir Packs A Big Punch
Review:
This memoir packs a big punch. Nathan opens the doors on what it feels like to be a young boy with no father or father figure around. He longs for a father and has no idea what a man's place in life is. He was raised by women. Strong women. He watches the actions of his friends fathers to learn.
Nathan has a big heart. As I read his story from boy to man I couldn't help but feel love for this brother. He certainly went through some things.
I liked that he studied the many religions out there. Nathan showed great strength fighting the system for his children when their mother would take off for days and not return. While she was out using drugs Nathan held it all down.
With thoughts of abandonment and suicide, trying to find his place in life was no easy task. Lewis states that he struggled to write this book four times but had to stop because it became to painful. I'm glad he found the strength to finish it. Nathan is a survivor. His story has now become a useful tool for many young boys with no father. A great guide into a child's mind for single mothers. This book is all heart. Nathan's journey gives hope. The statistics in the back of the book on Child Abuse, Divorce, Fatherlessness and Suicide
Are down right disturbing and eye opening.
Reviewed by
Dawn


Rating:
Summary: Listen to your voice?
Review: How does a young, black male learn to listen to the voices of reason when he is living in a world that is against him? HEARING VOICES, A MEMOIR examines a young boy's life as he becomes a man. The reader witnesses how he overcomes the setbacks of his life and how he finally learns to listen to his own voice.

As a young boy, Nathan Lewis lived in a household where his mother took care of the family, which included him, his younger sister and a stepfather. The stepfather, the only real father he knew, was a victim of the voices in his head, schizophrenia. Nathan's strength came from his mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and his aunt. These women persevered through life's trials and tribulations and were able to live life to its fullest. However, their strength could not keep Nathan from following the wrong path of gangs, drugs and sex. As he transitions into a man, Nathan struggles to find himself, come to terms with his biological father abandoning him, and depression. He learns to use poetry and his search for religion as coping tools.

In order for Nathan to grow, he had to learn how to be a man. After several failures and with the birth of his children, he recognizes his need to find his true self. Nathan begins relying on his own strength to survive and make a prosperous life for his children.

HEARING VOICES, A MEMOIR is an interesting story of finding one's self. I was really engrossed in Nathan's search for a religion. He studied, he experienced and read about many different religions. His experiences led him to find that the Christian church was hypocritical. He eventually turns his back on the church, but he continued to study religion. Today, he has just ventured back into the church and is taking it one day at a time. Although the story was a quick read, I found the author only gave us a surface understanding of his life. I wanted him to delve deeper into the whys of his actions so the reader could have a better understanding of him as a person. I found the poetry interwoven throughout the story as the real tellers of the truth about his life. This was a good story that just needed a little more meat to help the reader to grasp an understanding of the author.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: Listen to your voice¿
Review: How does a young, black male learn to listen to the voices of reason when he is living in a world that is against him? HEARING VOICES, A MEMOIR examines a young boy's life as he becomes a man. The reader witnesses how he overcomes the setbacks of his life and how he finally learns to listen to his own voice.

As a young boy, Nathan Lewis lived in a household where his mother took care of the family, which included him, his younger sister and a stepfather. The stepfather, the only real father he knew, was a victim of the voices in his head, schizophrenia. Nathan's strength came from his mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and his aunt. These women persevered through life's trials and tribulations and were able to live life to its fullest. However, their strength could not keep Nathan from following the wrong path of gangs, drugs and sex. As he transitions into a man, Nathan struggles to find himself, come to terms with his biological father abandoning him, and depression. He learns to use poetry and his search for religion as coping tools.

In order for Nathan to grow, he had to learn how to be a man. After several failures and with the birth of his children, he recognizes his need to find his true self. Nathan begins relying on his own strength to survive and make a prosperous life for his children.

HEARING VOICES, A MEMOIR is an interesting story of finding one's self. I was really engrossed in Nathan's search for a religion. He studied, he experienced and read about many different religions. His experiences led him to find that the Christian church was hypocritical. He eventually turns his back on the church, but he continued to study religion. Today, he has just ventured back into the church and is taking it one day at a time. Although the story was a quick read, I found the author only gave us a surface understanding of his life. I wanted him to delve deeper into the whys of his actions so the reader could have a better understanding of him as a person. I found the poetry interwoven throughout the story as the real tellers of the truth about his life. This was a good story that just needed a little more meat to help the reader to grasp an understanding of the author.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: The author gives a detailed account of the intimate events in his life. The perfectly placed poems and poetic wording throughout this book really allows the reader to feel what he was feeling, and see what he was seeing. It is not often that a book touches on so many different issues people can relate to, and this book does just that. Some subjects discussed are the struggles of being a single parent, being depressed and suicidal, having a troubled childhood, finding a religion, and finding love. Subjects discussed are deep and may seem dark, but the story is filled with constant hope and determination. I recommend this book to everyone I know who can appreciate a piece of art, such as this. To the author...I thank you for sharing your story with me.