Title: The Lakes in My Head
Subtitle: Paddling an Unexplored Wilderness
Author: Lesli Chinnock Anderson
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-5434-1335-9
Pages: 224
Genre: Christian
Reviewed by: Arnold Carreiro
Pacific Book Review
One can’t read The Lakes in My Head: Paddling an Unexplored Wilderness without feeling a deep sense of sympathy for author Lesli Chinnock Anderson’s intimate and harrowing misadventures regarding how hydrocephalus has challenged every aspect of her life. Genuine admiration is acknowledged for her ultimate goal of giving much- deserved awareness to this lesser-known chronic condition, and most importantly of all, encouragement from her reliance on her faith for God’s plan, throughout both the good times and the bad. At its core, this book has all of the ingredients for a page-turner that I personally believe would be widely talked about and frequently shared among fellow Christians, however the manuscript itself clearly needed to spend more time on an editor’s desk before its publication.
Anyone who dives into The Lakes in My Head, can clearly tell from this autobiographical recollection that Lesli is a brilliant, experienced, and accomplished woman, and that she has a captivating story of loss, change, and an iron-clad relationship with God to share with the reader that is well worth telling.
I appreciated Anderson’s attempts to string along a metaphor about a canoe trip through the lakes of Minnesota over the course of the story, as well as the comprehensive bibliography, a summarized timeline of her medical history of dealing with hydrocephalus. There is an inclusive reference section for readers who want to learn even more about hydrocephalus itself, as well as the well-composed compilation of especially relevant verses from the Bible.
The oversights in editing made me feel like I was reading a rough draft for an ongoing blog that detailed her ongoing struggles with hydrocephalus, as opposed to the polished eBook that her story deserved to be. This book has a lot of incredibly informative information and would be helpful for people dealing with hydrocephalus. With that said, if The Lakes In My Head were to have a professional edit, I believe that it would have a strong following.
