Let’s welcome Aimee Eddy to West of Mars!

To be honest, I have no idea how how Aimee found us, but let me tell you how glad I am that she’s here. The full title of her book is “Escape to the Garage: Family Love Overcomes Bullying” and just from that title, I can tell you we need more of this kind of goodness in the world. (And I say this as a parent who pulled her own kids back from the “high-risk” label, so I get it. I really do.)

There’s a LOT to explore about this book. We’re not going to get to it all, so I encourage you to explore on your own because me? I’m starting with the usual… Aimee Eddy, what song makes you think of your book, Escape to the Garage?

Taylor Swift’s song, Mean reminds me of my memoir, Escape to the Garage: Family Love Overcomes Bullying. She sings about being put down and how it affected her. In my book I show how I was bullied and that led to a decline in my mental health. Her lyrics, “Words like knives,” tells how the rotten things people say feel like. In my memoir I show how words cut the soul like a knife and tear me down. Taylor Swift sings about how she rose above the bullying and proves the person wrong. In my memoir I rise up to show my worth.

From the opening lyrics, I got the connection here. This is a perfect fit, song to story. (Also? I really want a metal or hard rock version of this song.)

Aimee Eddy, would you please share the book description with us?

Unable to do classwork in first grade, Aimee Eddy is called a retard by her teacher. This label follows her throughout elementary school and forces her to endure daily bullying from classmates and teachers alike. Low self-esteem and hopelessness threaten to swallow her.
Despite the hardships at school, she finds love and acceptance in one place-the family garage. Aimee, her siblings, and cousins disappear into their imaginations. There they build forts in the junkyard and roll down hills in inner tubes. The love her family shares with her at the garage gives her the courage to withstand the deep depression school produces.

Then tragedy strikes, and the family loses the garage. Without this place of refuge, how will she find the strength to stand up to bullies?

Whoa! Like… this reads like fiction. I’ll say it. This is a fabulous hook and I want to know what happens to the family and how Aimee manages to come out on top. I mean, gumption and guts and courage and resiliency, sure. But… there’s ALWAYS more to it than that.

I need to read this, in case it’s not obvious! Don’t you?

Grab your copy! It’s an Amazon exclusive, it looks like.

And connect with Aimee. Authors are always fun to connect with, and Aimee is doing very important work.
Website/Blog
Facebook
Twitter

As always, remember to leave a review online if you’ve read this and/or tell a friend. Or buy a copy for a friend! The more you spread the word of a good book, the more you help make the book discoverable to others, and that means more sales, which means more royalties for the author, which means all good things. (Also? Don’t download, read, and return, okay? That’s tacky AF.)

And, of course, send your friends and the authors you know on over for their turn in the spotlight. It doesn’t hurt, I’m a lot nice to chat with than I am in my book reviews (ulp), and you never know where your biggest fan is going to come from!