I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant (2025))
Such an intimate powerful story of one terribly hurt young woman. I don't know how any readers could experience this book without becoming invested in and deeply moved by the gut wrenching isolation of 19 year old Elizabeth.
After finishing high school, she's dropped out of the world, living a solitary hermit's life in a remote Wisconsin cabin. Elizabeth survived a childhood of almost indescribable medical torture. She suffered for years with a metal leg brace pinned to her bones in order to adjust their growth.
Through all the years of torment, her sense of self worth has been chipped away by the excruciating agonies of the procedure along with the apparent lack of empathy from her mother. Healed only physically, she seeks total solitude as the only way to protect herself from a world of hurt.
But then a winter blizzard leaves her stranded and forced to rely on the help of her nearest neighbor Noah, the small town's young Sheriff. In gradual increments, Noah's concern and genuine friendship bring out glimmers of humanity and new perceptions in this bedeviled young soul. After years in the dark, sunlight's peeking through for her.
For a heart touching experience, I can't praise this book highly enough. There's a kind of ethereal, haunting poetry to it, as well as some actual, beautifully crafted poetry in Elizabeth's deepest thoughts.
For anyone who wants to experience the highs and lows of a character's life-affirming journey out of anguish, I'd say this book's as good as it gets.
5 stars (*****) Prepare for this one to shake you.
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