“Cracked” in pieces.
Bronwyn Arnold, Junior English Education major from Prattville, Alabama, introduced “Cracked” by K.M. Walton as a book to open readers’ minds about the mentally disabled.
The minimalistic cover caught her attention with the medical cup and the two pills on the cover and she picked the book, read the synopsis and decided to give it a read.
“It was sort of foreshadowing of what could happen,” said Arnold.
Arnold revealed that she had a friend who lives with a mental disability and that is a reason why the book touched her soul.
“Some wait for no one/ they fill’ themselves/ up,” a quote from the poem “Just a Little Peace” in “Cracked” that stuck with Bronwyn since she read it. She mentioned that she highlights important lines that speak to her, but this one was the one that just stuck.
“It brings up the question of what drives a kid to the point of suicide,” said Bronwyn. “It’s not always them but how things affect them.” The boy becomes hopeless while being the victim of bullying and how he does not want to be alive anymore. Then learns the value of life through the help of others.
“There are bad circumstances but if you find the right people, then they can help you and you can also help them,” said Arnold, speaking on how that there is power in numbers, especially when it comes to knowing that you are not alone in a mental disorder.
“It would be better to try to work out your problems, rather than let them overtake you,” said Arnold who grew throughout reading the book and feels as if she came out at the end as a better person than who she was when she began reading the book.
“I would like others to read “Cracked” so they can learn about different mental disorders and how they affect people,” said Bronwyn. She wants other to know that having a mental disability does not mean you must suffer alone. There is a community of survivors who are willing to help those in need.
Check out “Cracked” by K. M. Walton on Goodreads.
