Lassoe, Ward V.B. Diane: True Survivor. Koehlerbooks, 2024.
Reason read: As a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing, I see out interesting books to review. This definitely caught my eye.
Diane might seem like every other uneducated, down-on-her-luck woman who used sex in her early years to get ahead. True, she continuously lashes out, made poor choices in men, and had several abortions as a teenager, but instead of her misguided beginnings, we should see Diane as a determined, courageous, and spiritual woman who tried to do the right thing as she got older. Despite suffering sexual and physical abuse, abandonment, and financial hardships, she is like all of us. All she ever wanted was to be loved and respected. It took her some time to realize that self-worth comes from self-love. Respect will come from within when you truly love yourself. Her strength and capacity for sincere forgiveness was amazing.
It is important to remember that Diane: True Survivor started as an interview with a classmate and friend. Lassoe’s style of writing is not a style at all, but rather the words of Diane echoing back through Lassoe’s writing. Lassoe accomplishes the allusion of a conversation between Diane and the reader because Diane is the one doing all the remembering and Lassoe has kept the narrative honest. Diane’s pain is apparent in every sentence she utters, starting with her early years in foster care and ending with the death of her mother.
Author fact: Lassoe started as a classmate of Diane but in the end could call himself a friend.
Book trivia: Diane: True Survivor includes photographs.
Music: Cliff Richards’ “Congratulations”, “God Save the Queen”, “My Country Tis of Thee”, Isaac Hayes’ “Chocolate Chip”, “Ave Maria” and Tom Jones.
~*LunaSea*~ 
Hi. This is Ward Lassoe. I just wanted to thank you for this review. “Diane” is actually being published on Thursday, and I’ve been feeling kind of discouraged lately because I feel like I haven’t done enough to get the word out there. I did a Google search tonight and came across your review, and it lifted my spirits. I’ve written this book as a tribute to Diane, so reading your review was heartening.
If there’s any way you could post it on Amazon (after Thursday) or Goodreads, I’d be grateful Thanks again.