Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: This was the first time I read a book by Mary Monroe and I have to say it DEFINITELY won't be the last. The book was good from beginning to end. I could not stop reading this book and I have to admit when it was over I was truly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read!
Review: When one carries their own burdens they weigh heavily; but when the burdens are not your own they change your life. Carmen Taylor has designated herself the official burden carrier for all, however when she runs to her friend Desiree's rescue again, she finds this just may be the one burden that she's gonna have to lay down.Gonna Lay Down My Burdens is a complex story of love, loyalty and loss. Carmen Taylor, from the time she was thirteen years old, has found herself bound to people in friendship out of a strange sense of obligation and loyalty. Throughout the story, with every show of loyalty, there is a loss and she constantly reaches right down and bears one more cross. The one other constant for Carmen is her love for Chester Sheffield and her inability to have him. Whether it's because at the time he wasn't interested in her, she was pushing him away or her best friend decided she wanted him, Carmen seemed to be on the outside looking in. Ms. Monroe portrays a stunning picture of how children (like Carmen) can take on responsibilities that are not theirs to bear and will carry that habit into adulthood. She also paints a very clear picture of how people will take advantage of the burden bearers in their life and Desiree, Burl, and all of Carmen's burden ridden friends do just this. This book was a bit difficult for me to get started, but once I did, I was hooked. It moved at a steady pace and Ms. Monroe has a way of walking through a person's life and giving you insight to all of their idiosyncrasies without loading down the reader with mundane details. I became so involved with the story that I talked to the characters with warnings and reprimands. I even became frustrated to the point I wanted to put the book down, but Ms. Monroe's gift of storytelling is made evident in that no matter how you feel about what is going on in the story you have to know how it ends. This is a really good read. Kotanya
APOOO BookClub
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