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Buy it now direct from AuthorHouse or from our Amazon.com site - Under the Red Velvet Cover: Conquering Victimhood and Breaking the Silence of Abuse, Corruption and Family Secrets - My Life Journey

Writing is a very personal event regardless of the genre.  Every word and every sentence that is put together, captures something about the author in a way no other form of expression can. Sweat, blood and tears are often shed to write something that we feel good about, or at least would let others read.  It's when we open ourselves up to the world and really put ourselves out there, that we as authors can make a difference.  And there is no better example of this than Under the Red Velvet Cover, by Grant Garris.

It starts out with a simple telephone call to the Dallas County Police Station.  That one act changes everything for Grant and sets in motion a painful journey back through his childhood, learning twenty years later of the family secrets and lies that surrounded the molestation, physical torture and mental cruelty that he endured at the hands of his own grandfather.

It's a story that should only be in the pages of a fictional novel, but unfortunately the story is all too real for Grant, and for anyone who has ever been the victim of childhood abuse.  Grant doesn't hold back.  He has opened himself up, exposed old wounds that are decades old and I'm sure shed many tears in telling his story. 

The book is difficult to read, but equally as difficult to put down.  The one thing that struck me most of all about the book is the fact that this is not a book about being a victim as one would expect, nor is it necessarily one that has a happy ending.  It's about overcoming adversity.  It's about learning where and what your strengths are and using them to survive.  It's about conquering fear, self-doubt and self-hatred.

It's a book that everyone should read.

Reviewed by William Holden