Review: All That Fills Us by Autumn Lytle

 

About:

The journey toward healing starts with a single brave step--but it is never walked alone

Mel Ellis knows that her eating disorder is ruining her life. Everyone tells her rehab is her best option, but she can't bring herself to go. Broke, broken, and empty in more ways than one, Mel launches one last-ditch effort to make hers a story worth telling. She will walk her own road to recovery along the lesser-known trails of the North American wilderness.

Though she is physically and mentally unprepared to face the difficulties that lay ahead, she sets off on foot from Michigan. Her goal? Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. During the long journey, she meets strangers with their own stories, as well as ghosts from her past who can no longer be ignored. But though the land she travels threatens her success at every turn, it's her own dark thoughts she'll have to overcome in order to find peace in the life and the body she has been given.

My Thoughts:

All That Fill Us is a compelling, emotional story of a young woman who has lost her way by losing herself in all that she perceives as failures. In doing this, her problems now are manifesting themselves in an eating disorder that is slowly killing her.

Mel is a bright and often witty character that most could relate too. She knows what she is doing is unhealthy and she knows she is hurting herself and those she loves as well. However, the mind is a powerful thing and so are the voices that come and tell us that we are worthless or not enough, or that we are failures. And they are especially loud when circumstances in our life derail us from the life we thought we could achieve. When careers don't pan out, or sickness comes, or especially when you lose the love of your life, these circumstances can make us feel even more worthless and if left unchecked, can push us to believing the lies about ourselves.

This is Mel's journey as she starts out from her home to journey across the country to Mt. Ranier in an effort to have a pilgrimage of sorts. What she discovers on the way is that she is so much more than just a number from the scale that she is valuable and loved. Even loved and cared for from complete strangers. To survive life, Mel must learn the lessons along this journey, face an uncertain future, and put into a better perspective her past, her family and the love of her life, Alex. But ultimately, she needs to find her worth and value in the One who finds her more valuable and precious than she ever thought.

This is a deep and heartfelt story of a woman, who could be any of us with any sort of problems, and her journey to beginning to get well and truly learn to be content in all circumstances.

I was provided a copy of this novel through the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own. 

About the Author:

Autumn Lytle identifies with a strange group of humans who enjoy running long distances and writing even longer books. Along with being a forever-recovering anorexic and exercise addict, she is a weirdly good checkers player and finder of four-leaf clovers. She spends her days thinking up stories and trying to figure out this whole parenting thing with her son. She can often be found out exploring her hometown of Seattle, Washington, with her family in tow. Learn more at www.autumnlytle.com.