✫✫ 10 Stars ✫✫

I want to give this book 10 stars! For me this book hit home in a completely different way than I think it will most people. I expect to see a lot of comments from people who know the way Toby felt in this book but I am the opposite. I don't know this feeling and find I am sometimes unsympathetic toward people because I don't understand it but this book showed me and explained to me how someone can seem one way and feel a different way inside. I needed that lesson!

Toby's story is heartbreaking but it is also uplifting and eye opening. This book will hit all of your emotions.

Part 1 - Toby's side of the story. You get to spend most of this book in Toby's head and are introduced to many people in his life, some important and some just passing through (remember this is his side).

Part 2 -The Other Side of the story. In this part we learn so much about Toby from his interactions with others. Things look very different from the other side. This is the most powerful part of the book for me. So eye opening to realize what you see one way, others see completely different

Part 3- Reality! This is the hard part for me because everyone always knows what they should do but actually following through and being the changes you need to be is never easy. This for me was Toby's show of strength.

I loved Toby's story and his growth throughout this story even through the awful things. I loved how the author showed us that when someone seems ok it's not always real. We need to pay attention to what they don't say.

The dedications & author's notes were beautiful. Anyone who follows Kim Holden on Social Media knows that she is a sweet person who is ALL about kindness, lifting others and being the best person you can be for you and for others. In this book she showed people like me who don't have empathy that things aren't always what they seem and they aren't easy for everyone. This again is why I love her books! Every one of them has left a huge imprint on my heart and showed me how to be a better me!

The narration on this audiobook was PERFECT!!! Seriously this is proof that audiobook listening authors make the best audiobooks. The casting was perfect for every character, this is how you can tell that the author is a listener. There was not one thing about the narration that i would change. The best part for me was listening to Kim Holden narrate the author's notes. This made such a huge difference from hearing a narrator read it, this made it personal and made the story real.

9 people found this helpful

The Other Side

I don’t know if I have the words to adequately review this book. This story is so relevant to everyone. It can show you your side, someone else side and the truth. It is one of those books that will have you seeing yourself in it whether that be as Toby, as the other side or as reality.

For me it was all three, I have been Toby in my teens, I have seen the other side, and the reality. This story is more than a story it gives a voice to so many in all the different ways.

Kim’s words at the end shows us just how real and important stories like these are. But also lets us know that you are NOT alone, there is something out there we just have to be brave enough to ask for it.

My favorite quote, (for me this is TRUTH) - “Volume doesn’t change minds, it closes them.”

Audiobooks like this are what make listing so enjoyable even with the subject matter is hard/heavy. Each narrator gives themselves over to that character. You feel the story you see the story. I wish we could thank each and every one of the narrators because they did a phenomenal job one this book.

To Kim for writing it, I thank you, you always seem to write the stories that will be with me for years to come. What a gift you have, thank you for sharing it with us all.

3 people found this helpful

The Other Side

I can't say this is a bad book, but it's not for me at the moment. I say at the moment because maybe I will be in a different headspace at another date and time. For me, The Other Side is too intense and emotional. I know I feel this way because a lot has happened to me personally this year. I will rate it 4 stars. Even though it wasn't for me, I could tell it is a well written, beautiful story and it is the kind of story that may be healing and inspirational to others.

1 person found this helpful

get ready to feel

it's dark issues but so so necessary to be touched on and said outloud. I figured out most of Toby's stories before it was revealed but still it hit hard. it's too often people just dont see their worth and worse when hurt people drag the vulnerable even further in their darkness. kindness goes such a long way and it's really not that hard to do. I love this book and would recommend to anyone but especially those who are suicidal. this book could change their whole perspective. ❤ best purchase ever.

I am.❤

Destroyed

This book destroyed me. Kim Holden has given such a gift in all of her books but this one feels intimate and soul baring. You are taken on a mental health journey from the inside as only a survivor can do or understand in such stark beauty and naked truth. Well narrated and directed. This will stay with me a long time. I miss the characters already.

5 Powerful Heartbreaking Stars

I'm not even sure how to write a review for this book. It seems so personal and so thought provoking that I don't think any words can do it justice. The first half of this book was very hard to get into as it is very depressing and sad but as you move through the story you realize just how much pain Toby is in and that the events in his life have had a HUGE impact on him, so much so that everything is depressing to him. Kim does an amazing job of making you feel right along with Toby and even the other characters in this story, so much so that you'll be wanting to reach through the screen to give Toby a hug and tell him he's not alone because you are right here. This book truly is heartbreaking and even more so when you come to the realization that some people really do feel like this and live like this, that it is not just in the books. I dare you to read this book and not look at depression differently or reevaluate the way you have treated somebody in the past. Even though it may not seem like a huge thing, to some people who are already struggling that "thing" may be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. This book is so powerful that I really do think every single person out there should read it, if for no other reason than to get some perspective on what your words and actions can mean to somebody else (both good and bad). The author's notes are also very powerful and I love the fact that she has them in there and gives you a look into her personal struggles as well. Well done Kim, well done! The narrators on this book did a fantastic job of conveying feelings and words and making you FEEL this story as well as hear it. Having the author read her own notes make this even more powerful in my opinion.

Gripping story

Even though this book is about depression and the struggles it causes, I found it to be uplifting and have a theme of hope. The resources section at the end is great and even reminded me that there is always someone out there struggling with much harder things than me. The story was engaging and I enjoyed the characters and how all the pieces fit together.

Painful Truths Artfully unfold! There is power in the fight!

Well written, heartbreaking, and eerily-connecting for those who are tenderly familiar with depression. I was in an almost constant feeling of “I can only stomach this story in short dosages at a time.”😔
Hope, connection, tenderness is what I valued most from this story. 💛

Kim Holden: Beautiful; Masterful

Brilliant penmanship that confronts and challenges the gift of life. Do epic, be amazing

A good read!

Its a very good story! Its sad in alot of parts but it was also good too. I recommend this book.