I’ve been staring at a blank screen for quite some time. My apprehension has nothing to do with the rating of this book—I’ve already given it 5 stars—it’s just that when a writer decides to bare her soul, reviews seem to me, well, sacrilegious. Therefore, I’m not taking the scenic route, deconstructing, analyzing, regurgitating—I’m just going to use descriptive adjectives: harrowing, heart-wrenching, raw, honest, empowering. But what I personally took from it was a strong sense of optimism. Because when life turns bleak—

Illumination only lasts until darkness decides to fall

—Rachel Thomson just flips the light switch back on.