The Soulful Child Reviews
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Pre-Reader Reviews
I am recommending this book to my readers because it exemplifies resilience in action and how creation and destruction together create progress.
The Summer of Love was a time of breaking boundaries and creating new ways of living in America. It produced fantastic music, art and literature. It established activism methods used by participants in Black Lives Matter and other recent protests.
This past summer was the 50th anniversary of that time, celebrated by KQED San Francisco in interview format. 3 adult survivors discussed their childhood experience of being raised in an atmosphere producing both independence and harm. Their 3 books were showcased on KQED Summer of Love.
Chloe Rachael Galloway’s story differs from the others mentioned because she and her siblings...Read More
Connie Cox - twoearthshaman.com
What would it be like living off the grid, being so connected to the natural world and simultaneously being disconnected from all the moving tendrils of our sprawling and multi-faceted society? With Chloe Rachel Gallaways memoir, The Soulful Child, we learn that this oft fantasized approach to living does not remove us from the human condition which encapsulates us all.
We travel with Chloe as she wrestles and comes to terms with the disparities that exist in those she loves and looks up to the most, the ones that exist within her, and the ones that define the larger world in which she finds herself.
This is an often times gut-wrenching, but always compelling, story. It is filled with the rawness of an uncommon and rugged life, and we travel with her as she searches for a mechanism to express her perpetually blossoming hope for meaningful connection. This book is a brilliant testament to her remarkable family, and a shining example of how she employs her chosen instrument in touching the lives of the people around her.
- Kevin Scott Day
Chloe Rachel Gallaway wrote A Soulful Child: Twelve Years in the Wilderness from her deep connection to who she is, where she comes from, and whom she lost through her wilderness journey. I was gently placed on my own wilderness journey as I joined hers. Moments when I felt connected to God, earth, and sky were awakened as I read the joy in each captivating moment written in her book. My heart ached for my mom while reading words of loss and turbulence. I shouted my disappointment in society when reading words the helplessness a child feels when faced with adult decisions. Then my hope was restored when I read the words of those who come into our lives and rescue us. My spirit was lifted at moments captured by words of triumph when connecting to true purpose and the compassion that comes with understanding. I was ready to read more when stared at the last page of A Soulful Child! The moment when I met with Chloe Rachel Gallaway for the first time, I felt connected to her and her story. I am grateful that I am one among your pre-reader tribe. Sending abundant joy and success to you and your family as you continue on this amazing journey.
- Shawna Renee
I just finished reading The Soulful Child. This book took my breath away! Chloe's gift of storytelling is incredible. I felt overwhelmed at times, as if I was there with her and her family. I laughed and cried throughout . Then I remembered that this is a true story and felt the words in my soul.
Chloe's life in the wilderness until she was 12 is unbelievably painful at times and draws you in. The siblings starting over in civilization was described in poignant detail and your heart will ache and then you will applaud. I'm sure the descriptions of New Mexico will have adventurers planning a trip to see the rugged beauty she describes. The story leaves nothing out and fully embraces how spirituality, religion, and even domestic abuse played a part in her family's story. This is a story of courage and family and forgiveness in a way I have never experienced.
Thank you Chloe for the gift of being one of your pre-readers. Your story will change lives and give hope to women and girls all over the world.
- Martrice Endres
I have just finished reading The Soulful Child. It is a fantastic book, leaving me with a permanent love of it and impact on my life.
Your writing is exquisite, most of it poetic prose. Your story is riveting. When the reader had to be interrupted there was a strong impatience to get back to it.
The story is the definition of poignancy and with so much sadness. Yet still more, discovery - the discovery of the reality and power of the spirit in us all. A story of redemption through compassion, love and forgiveness, the things Jesus taught and modeled for us.
This story also illustrates the divine dictum: 'Train up a child in the way he (she) should go, and when he (she) is old they will not depart from it.' A part of my own life story of rejection of parental training in adolescence, yet a return to those principles in mature adult life.
Your story has impacted me in sharpening and deepening my concern with and appreciation of the magnificence and power of nature and of God's creation in all its awesome wonder.
The lessons of this book could be a vehicle of healing of our present fractured and godless culture. For that to happen, the story has to be promulgated and absorbed.
These, Chloe, are my first and immediate responses to the completion of my reading of The Soulful Child, a magnificent book. Thank you, thank you for the priviledge of being a pre-publishing reader.
Warmest regards and all best wishes,
- Henry Collyer
Chloe Rachel Gallaway's memoir, The Soulful Child: Twelve Years in the Wilderness, touched my soul on many levels. It took me on an emotional journey that made me ache, laugh, and cry with this soulful child as she learned to navigate her road to adulthood and peace through a most extraordinary way of life. On an intellectual level it challenged my tendency to see things as black and white, good and bad. On a spiritual level it gave me a greater understanding about the connection to the outdoors, to nature, and to the Universe as we know it.
I am honored to have the opportunity to have been selected as a Pre-Reader of the book, having known Chloe only a short time. Through her eyes, the story of her life is one that captivates the reader; teaches life lessons; and provides hope and inspiration for all young women. Thank you Chloe, for your contribution to the world. Sending you and your family light and love for years to come.
- Barbra Portzline, PhD
