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Rating: 
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: A must read for everyone. I was hooked by the first paragraph at the library, but ran out to buy my own copy. Della Raye is one amazing lady. Incredible story of human strength and perseverence in the face of unbelievable inhumane conditions.I wanted to run out, find her, and take her home with me!
Rating: 
Summary: Inspirational!
Review: and you shouldn't because it will most likely change your life! Author Gary Penley does an incredible job of telling the true story of the life of Della Raye Rogers who lived in a hellish existence for 20 years! As a normal and intelligent four year-old, she was sentenced to a state asylum in Alabama during the Great Depression along with her mother and other relatives who were indeed mentally deficient. Upon entrance she was completly separated from her mother and began a life with both retarded and mentally ill patients. But that is only part of the story-you will shudder, cringe, and cry as you read of the horrible abuse, sickening conditions, cruel nursing staff, and beatings she suffers at the hand of her own mother when she finally sees her several years after entering the asylum. BUT, you will also read of one of the greatest triumphs of the human spirit as Della Raye makes the best of her situation before being released at the age of 24! She goes on to live out, in the most amazing way, TRUE forgiveness! Choosing to forgive and loving unconditionally becomes her prescription for healing and wholeness. Just wait until you read the story and find out who she visits and ministers to in their dying days! After reading this book I said I would never complain about anything again. Della Raye is one of my heroines-i tell everyone I meet about her!
Rating:
Summary: God's Grace
Review: For a historical look at mental health care this book is a must! And for a Christian testimony it is a must! Only by the grace of God was Della able to survive and then forgive those who had hurt her. Awesome story/testimony!
Rating:
Summary: An Angel Gets Her Wings
Review: On Saturday, September 20th, 2003 @ 3:00AM Della Raye Hughes became one of the most celebrated angels in the Heavens. I love you and will miss you terribly Della Raye. Right now you are probably flitting from angel to angel doing comb outs, setting perms and trimming locks. I wish you well on your journey.I am honored to have known you. Please look down on me from time to time. Lord knows I need all the guardian angel help I can get, oh, and it wouldn't hurt if you put a good word or two in for me (insurance...you know). Thank you for all the inspiration, encouraging words,laughs,long distance hugs and for the trust you placed in me. You will always be in my thoughts with much love and respect.
Rating:
Summary: An Angel Gets Her Wings
Review: On Saturday, September 20th, 2003 @ 3:00AM Della Raye Hughes became one of the most celebrated angels in the Heavens. I love you and will miss you terribly Della Raye. Right now you are probably flitting from angel to angel doing comb outs, setting perms and trimming locks. I wish you well on your journey.I am honored to have known you. Please look down on me from time to time. Lord knows I need all the guardian angel help I can get, oh, and it wouldn't hurt if you put a good word or two in for me (insurance...you know). Thank you for all the inspiration, encouraging words,laughs,long distance hugs and for the trust you placed in me. You will always be in my thoughts with much love and respect.
Rating:
Summary: Four Stars
Review: This book is about Della Raye Rogers who at age 4, along with her mother and some other relatives, was committed to the Partlow State School for Mental Deficients in Alabama. It was 1929 and Della Raye's Uncle Richard was too poor to shoulder the burden of caring for himself and his "feeble-minded" relations so he had them institutionalized. At the state school the patients were classified as "morons", "imbeciles" or "idiots". The staff was mostly untrained and uneducated so the "school" was more of an underfunded warehouse for those who were unable to care for themselves. After suffering 20 years of horrifying physical, psychological and emotional abuse, Della Raye was finally released. She found that she not only had the spirit & intelligence to live her life fully, but also the grace to forgive those who had treated her so badly. A heart-warming, inspiring story of the power of love and faith.
Rating:
Summary: Sad but true
Review: This is a fascinating real-life story... a sad story... but one of hope and forgiveness.... it will make you cry and wonder how anyone could survive as Della Raye survived.Imagine being institutionalized in the Deep South during the depression... Imagine the pain and sorrow of a young child separated from her mother--left to live and grow in a mental institution with abusive guards in an unjust system--yet she survived and lived to tell about it!! I was happy to get to the ending, yet I didn't want it to end. This book had an emotional hold on me! Realizing that most of us can survive successfully through anything, I thank Della Raye for her story.... She has a great message for all of us.
Rating:
Summary: Compassion in words
Review: What a gift Mr. Penley gives to Della Raye and her family by documenting in such detail the dramatic experiences of an unfortunate girl. This story helps open the eyes of the public to horrors of some experiences in facilities for the insane (especially for those who are not insane). I read it with much interest even though I did not know the family. I was able to meet the author at a book signing. The story of how he came to write the book made it evident that he wrote this as an expression of friendship to the family, which adds depth to this work. (What a difficult work it must have been!) His quotes and details make it seem that he was there. That makes it come alive even more! In the end, I wanted to meet Della Raye as she is today. (I also recommend his other book, Rivers of Wind).
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