Owned - Marie Campbell

Unpublished at time of review.

After I put up last year's list I was contacted by Marie, who is a friend of mine on Facebook, and asked if I would like to read a copy of her (currently) unpublished autobiography. Knowing only a little bit of her story, I realised that it was likely to be quite a heavy read.

Wow. It is.

Marie tells her life story openly and bluntly, not shying away from the 'ugly' elements, including a lot of drug use, taking up a life of prostitution, and even some mental health struggles. It is not an easy read at times, but Marie keeps the story moving along. Eventually she meets Jesus and we begin to see His power at work in her life. This is not the end of the story, however, and Marie goes through a number of further ups and downs, battling her addictions and desires even as she becomes more and more aware of God walking with her.

This is a story of redemption and hope, but the raw unedited look at the pre-Christ portion of her life (a much larger section than many Christian autobiographies) won't be easily digested by some readers. It is very obvious from the book that Marie is still a work in progress (as we all are!), and it is also obvious just how much God has been transforming her. 

Powerful.

PS. Since I first uploaded this review Marie has published her book. I have updated this post to include her pen-name, which has been adopted in order to protect her privacy - something that I completely understand given some of the content of the book! I have also added the new cover of the book, as the first copy also had her real name on it.

Completed 12 November 2022.

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