I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl by Kelle Groom

Title: I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl
Author: Kelle Groom
Publisher: Free Press, a division of Simon and Schuster
Source: I received this book from the publisher as part of Free Press Blog Tours

What's The Story:

From Goodreads.com: "At the age of fifteen, Kelle Groom found that alcohol allowed her to connect with people and explore intimacy in ways she’d never been able to experience before. She began drinking before class, often blacked out at bars, and fell into destructive relationships. At nineteen, already an out-of-control alcoholic, she was pregnant. Accepting the heartbreaking fact that she was incapable of taking care of her son herself, she gave him up for adoption to her aunt and uncle. They named him Tommy and took him home with them to Massachusetts. When he was nine months old, the boy was diagnosed with leukemia—but Kelle’s parents, wanting the best for her, kept her mostly in the dark about his health. When Tommy died he was only fourteen months old. Having lost him irretrievably, Kelle went into an accelerating downward spiral of self-destruction. She emerged from this free fall only when her desire to stop drinking connected her with those who helped her to get sober."

My Two Cents: 

My heart broke for Kelle Groom throughout this entire book. Groom was only 19 when she got pregnant and not in the best situation. Her son is whisked away to be adopted by Groom's aunt and uncle. Kelle doesn't get to see him before he passes away from leukemia at less than 2 years old. How could that not be heartbreaking? Couple that loss with a debilitating addiction and you have a situation where many would fail but Groom rises. Her struggle to come to terms with the death of her son is painful to read and stirred my emotions thoroughly.

Every once in awhile, you find a book that has the amazing ability to move you in just a few sentences. This is one of those books. The story matter itself will definitely tug on you a little bit but it's worth fighting through the difficult parts to get to the pearls of some of her lines. Groom's writing is almost poetic in a way. She uses some really gorgeous metaphors and turns of phrase that almost make you feel as if you are floating through her journey. 


The storyline of the book isn't necessarily in sequential order and I found that sort of difficult to keep up with. Even with that minor annoyance, this book is so worth it. This book is raw and real and will shake you up.


My Rating:
4 out of 5 stars


Check out the book trailer below!:



I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl Official Book Trailer from Ben Rock on Vimeo.