A Girl Beyond Closed Doors by Jessica Taylor-Bearman | Book Tour Review
{A Girl Beyond Closed Doors by Jessica Taylor-Bearman was kindly gifted to me by Literally PR in exchange for an honest review and a place on the book tour. This article contains affiliate links.}
Hello Readers,
It’s my turn on the book tour for A Girl Beyond Closed Doors, the beautiful conclusion to Jessica Taylor-Bearman’s A Girl Series. The tour started on the 13th of November and is running until the 4th of December ~ all the details are at the end of this article so you can check out the reviews of the other participants if you’d like.
Before I get into my thoughts or share the synopsis of this book with you, I do just want to mention a couple things that some readers may find triggering in the book and I feel need to be aware of if anyone does decide to read it:
Firstly, this book follows Jessica during her first pregnancy. For many in the chronic illness community that can be a hard and decisive subject, so please be mindful and remember everyone has a right to their own choices. Secondly, due to the time frame this book covers, 2019-2020, there are parts of this book towards the end which share Jessica’s experience during the first year of the pandemic. This is something to just be aware of if you’re uncomfortable reading anything related to this period of time, especially if you’re chronically ill.
Okay, now that you’re aware of those thing, let me share the synopsis of the book:
“After twelve years of being trapped in the world of one room by the M.E Monster, Jessica’s dreams start to come true. She’s Pregnant! But Jessica has to adjust to being a disabled mum in an inaccessible world and face the critics who doubt her abilities. And when the pandemic hits just as they relocate to a new county, isolation takes on a new form, as they learn to adjust to being a family of three in one flat limited by government-enforced restrictions and fear of contracting Covid. Balancing parenthood and chronic illness, expectations versus reality, Jessica discovers alternative fairytale endings are possible… a life beyond closed doors.”
For those not familiar with the details of Jessica’s story, she became seriously ill with M.E when she was 15 years old and was hospitalised from 2006 to 2010 with the most serve form of the disease ~ she was bed bound, unable to move, speak, eat, was in constant pain and unable to tolerate light and sound amongst other things. But Jessica’s strength of will remained in tact and she began to write her story in her mind and when she was able to speak, created an audio diary named “Bug”, which then became her first book, A Girl Behind Dark Glasses.
Being a part of the online M.E Community personally, I’ve known Jessica and followed her story for many years. So I knew this final instalment of her series was on the way and as soon as I saw it added to the tour list from Literally PR, I immediately requested a place. Jessica is actually the reason I began working on book tour reviews for them in the first place. I’m so thankful to her for giving me that opportunity when she asked if I would like to join the tour for her second book, A Girl In One Room. {you can read my review here.}
““I’ve been ill with M.E. for the past twelve years; I spent four of those constantly in hospital, unable to move, fed through tubes and unable to speak so I think you’d agree that it is a serious condition actually.”
There was a silence as the doctor tried to compute that someone could be that unwell from a disease that he thought was just about being tired. I silently wondered how it was possible that twelve years after my original diagnosis, this kind of prejudice was still prevalent.”
While this book can be a difficult read at times due to the content, Jessica’s writing style makes it easy to take in and understand. The way she describes her experiences, gives insight into what M.E is like, and what goes into trying to manage this disease is really informative. Even if I had no experience of the illness personally, I feel I’d have a decent grasp of it and just how serious it can be at it’s most severe stage from this book and her previous ones ~ which I highly recommend picking up if you do want to understand more about M.E and how it can affect a person.
Jessica’s honesty and openness is present throughout her entire series and I love how real she is about her thoughts and feelings within this book around becoming a mother when she’s chronically ill. You can feel the frustration when she came up against that ever present stigma around having M.E, being chronically ill and deciding to have children. The comments and remarks from the some of the professionals Jessica had to be around made me feel so upset and angry and my heart broke on her behalf.
“I looked around me as Felicity’s laughs filled the air and Samuel hugged me tightly. I wanted to take in every detail because although I wasn’t sure what the future would hold for me as I continued to co-exist with the M.E Monster, this moment was everything and contained all the perfect happiness I could possibly need to carry with me.”
Towards the end of the second book, Jessica shared how she met her husband and throughout A Girl Beyond Closed Doors, it’s very obvious just how strong their relationship has grown. Samuel is ever present cheering Jessica’s wins, reminding her how far she’s come, that she’s an amazing mother, and supplying all the Hot Chocolate when the M.E Monster becomes too much to bear! Though I already know Jessica has an amazing support system with her family and Samuel’s, reading about all the things they do and say in Jessica’s words was so heart-warming. When you’re unwell, having people around you if you need help is vital and seeing how caring, kind and understanding her family are is absolutely wonderful.
Despite all of the daily struggles being shared, there’s just so many beautiful moments of dreams becoming reality in this book that show just how far Jessica has come. Even though the M.E Monster is always there ready to make itself known, she is managing to find ways to have a life within the limits it puts upon her. Then, when some days are difficult to just get through, Samuel is always there, Hot Chocolate in hand, ready to support her.
Overall, A Girl Beyond Closed Doors is a beautiful finale to an incredibly important series that not only puts the realities of having M.E in it’s severest form front and centre, but also shows that through all the struggles, things can improve over time. You just have to have the strength and hope to keep going.
I just want to say a huge thank you to Jessica for sharing her story with the world; You are truly a shining star within the M.E. / Chronic Illness Community and it is a privilege to know you.
Thank you also to Literally PR for sending me a copy of this amazing book and a giving me a place on the tour, it means a lot.
Stay Safe. Read a Book.
L x
A Girl Beyond Closed Doors Book Tour Details
If you’d like to find out more about this book and Jessica Taylor-Bearman, you can do so via her social media handle ~ @behinddarkglasses
If you’d like to find out what everyone else on the tour thought of this book, listed below are all the dates and social media handles for all the tour participants:
13th November: Karen ~ @karteabooks
14th November: Dr Merricksson ~ @drjademerricksson
15th November: Eden ~ Goodreads Review
16th November: Laura ~ @bookishhermit
17th November: Victoria ~ @ByYourBedside
18th November: Kelly ~ @tbhonest_uk
19th November: Shalla ~ @escape_into_a_good _book
20th November: Kirsty ~ @bookwormwhitlock86
21st November: Louise ~ @louiseslittlelife
22nd November: Emma ~ @BookHighland
23rd November: Kirsty ~ @kirstyes
24th November: Zara ~ @BooknerdZara
25th November: Nicola ~ @bookish_nikki17
26th November: Stacey ~ @staceywh_17
27th November: Emily ~ @emzysbooks
28th November: Joceline ~ @greenreadsbooks1
29th November: Becca ~ @she_loves_to_read
30th November: Alice ~ @storiesbyAlice
1st December: Chloe ~ @the_secret_bookreview
2nd December: Natalie ~ @thespooniemummy
3rd December: Gill ~ @gillianyoungauthor
4th December: Helen ~ @bookoclock_
