Synopsis
In Capturing the Ghost, author David Tanner Lauka tells his own extraordinary story of healing through the lens of a tormented adult named Aaron and his inner child who forces Aaron to acknowledge and accept the physical and sexual abuse from his childhood.
In this memorable true story, Aaron had always been a bit neurotic, but lately he was getting the feeling that he was being watched and that someone was coming for him. Ever since he met the Boy, his whole world was turned upside down. He realized that he was living a lie and was not sure if he was living in the past or present. The Boy takes Aaron on a two-year journey back in time, into a world that was too painful and brutal for him to endure before and faces the parts of his past that he was desperate to forget. As Aaron descends further into his childhood, he begins to lose his grip on reality and the will to live.
Capturing the Ghost is an autobiographical look at David Tanner Lauka’s battle to accept the physical and emotional abuse of his childhood, capture the ghosts of his past and reclaim his humanity.
Living with repressed memories, Aaron had created a new life for himself in a world where nothing bothered him and nothing harmed him. Lately, however, Aaron found himself weary of everyone, fearing that they were all out to get him. Thanks to The Boy, those repressed memories began to resurface, leaving Aaron nothing more than a ticking time bomb. Knowing that he experienced physical and sexual abuse from those who were supposed to be protect him, only makes things worse. The Boy, tired of suffering in silence, takes Aaron on a two-year journey to discover where he came from and who he truly is.
This memoir takes you on a journey through the day in the life of survivor of abuse, without revealing the real names of those who were involved. David Lauka describes the abuse in as much detail as possible, in order to help other survivors know that they are not the only ones. In this novel, Aaron's wife, Susie, and brother, Ruben, do their best to walk him through the panic attacks and nightmares through their experience in the trauma field. Even Paula, Aaron's therapist, tried to help him through the traumatic memories, but nothing seemed to soothe him better than a warm bath and MMA fighting.
As someone who has experienced abuse and even knowing others that have been in similar situations, Capturing the Ghost, at times became hard to read. The amount of description is not something that I could read all in one sitting. It will definitely force you to take a minute to get through each chapter, but it is certainly worth it in the end.
I would recommend this novel for anyone who has experienced abuse, and even those who haven't, as it can capture the attention of many. This is an issue that we all need to be privy of a society and take more seriously. Thank you David for sharing your experience, and I hope that it inspires so many others in the way that it did for me.
My name is Emilia Rivera and for the past year, I have been writing book and movie reviews for my own personal blog Tell It Like It Is. There I present my opinion and provide recommendation on books I have read and movies I have seen.
