More inspirational than some of these tales (Moving On - Kevin Lewis)

Member Name: marymoose

Product:	Moving On - Kevin Lewis
Date:	15/10/08 (216 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Far more positive than some 'tragic' life stories, quite interesting

Disadvantages: It's a sequel to a tragic life story !

---Introduction---

Although I say time and time again that I'm not going to read any more autobiographies of people's tragic childhoods, invariably I end up reading them when they appear on the charity book list at work for 25p. However, this one was a bit different, as it was a sequel to one which I'd read a few years ago called "The Kid".

After reading so many of these books they do all start to merge into one, and to be honest I couldn't really remember what Kevin Lewis' experiences were, and which were Dave or Richard Pelzer's. But I do remember that "The Kid" was a book I 'enjoyed' (if that's the right word for it, it probably isn't) as it stayed on my bookshelf for quite a while before I finally gave it away to someone. It was also one of the slightly earlier autobiographies (or misery memoirs as they are sometimes known) that was published just before the whole world and his dog wrote one.



---Kevin Lewis---

Kevin Lewis had a truly awful childhood (beyond awful really), which can be found about through reading "The Kid". His parents Gloria and Dennis treated him, his two brothers and three sisters abysmally. For much of the time Kevin was kept locked in a small room with excrement on the walls. Kevin was born in London in 1970, so his story is not old, and it is shocking to hear what he went through so recently (relatively speaking), and also the failings of the Social Services. The sad reality of it is (as Kevin mentions in 'Moving On') that these things are still going on today, in the UK.

More about Kevin can be found out at his website - and there you can also find opening chapters to "The Kid" and "Moving On" (which was renamed "The Kid Moves On" when it came out in paperback), so have a read of them to see if you like the style and want to read on! Kevin Lewis is now also a published author of crime thrillers, and is doing very well for himself it seems.

www.kevinlewisonline.com/flash.htm



---The Book---

The book begins with Kevin explaining about why he wrote "The Kid" - basically it was so that his wife Jackie could understand what he had been through as a child. However, although it was initially intended as a private document, the book ended up being published, and as a result Kevin's life changed completely. As I mentioned above you can read the first part of the book if you visit the website.

As I read through "Moving On" the stories from "The Kid" did start to come back to me, and I remembered more about Kevin's childhood and how bad it was. Through the process of writing and publishing the book, Kevin did begin to rethink about his childhood and memories which he'd kept hidden for so long, and inevitably this came with it some difficult times.

Kevin comes across as a very likeable bloke, and he has a lot of enthusiasm for life, ambition, and a drive to succeed. There are lots of humorous moments even to the point of laughing out loud several times. I enjoyed reading about his new-found love for playing polo, and I actually learnt something new.

Tragically we learn through the book that history is repeating itself with one of his sister's children also going through traumatic childhoods and being involved with Social Services. Particularly at the end of the book, Kevin highlights how important it is that things change. One message which I wholeheartedly agree with is that people shouldn't have children until they are ready to. The huge responsibility of parenting must not be taken lightly. Unfortunately so often it is, and thus the cycle continues.



---My Thoughts---

This book has received some quite mixed reviews on the Internet, although I seem to be the first to review it on Ciao and DooYoo. Some people seem to be a bit disappointed with it feeling that there should have been more of an emphasis on Kevin's parents and the family situation.

Personally I was not disappointed. It is certainly not as harrowing a read as "The Kid", but then it's about showing how he has moved on from the past, so I wasn't expecting it to be! It's not really about his family (although of course they are mentioned), it's about his life now. I found it interesting to learn about the process he went through having his book published, and also later when it was made into a BBC documentary.

My colleague actually read this book having not already read "The Kid" and she thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I have to say that you'll probably get more from the book if you've read the first one. I'd give it an overall rating of 7 out of 10 - it's not earth shattering, but it was worth a read - being generous I'll give it 4 stars.



---Other---

Having been reasonably impressed with Kevin Lewis' non-fiction books, I'm open to the possibility of reading his fiction books in the future, although I'm not going to go out of my way to read them - there's so much to read, and so little time, and no doubt another tragic life story will be beckoning before too long!

My edition of the book (hardback) can be bought from Amazon for 1p plus £2.75 p & p, so really £2.76!

The paperback version which is renamed "The Kid Moves On" can be bought new for £5.49.

Oh, and my book has 249 pages so it's not a long read at all...good for the train!

Summary: A sequel to one of the earlier tragic life stories!