Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (12/08)

"Born on Friday 13th" by Anna Murray is so much more than I originally thought. The date, Friday 13th, now makes you think of horror stories and ghostly haunting. "Born on Friday 13th" is about life. Life that is good and bad, happy and sad. Life!

Piecing together a childhood uncommon to most, and adventure to others, Anna shares both joy and pain as she relives her childhood in Africa. Born on Friday, November 13 - as times grow hard and searching for a reason - Anna places the blame on herself due to her date of birth. The tragic death of her loving father and the circumstances that surround his death continue her on the downward spiral. Losing her mother, who had long-suffered from the grips of cancer, only emphasized to Anna that life was about loss. Losing her father, periodically losing her brother to boarding school, and finally losing her mother to cancer Anna is alone. Anna felt that although she truly cherished the good times they shall always be followed by a gut-wrenching loss.

Following her heart, struggling for happiness, Anna soon finds herself alone and preparing for motherhood. Regardless of what her extended family wanted and warned, Anna welcomes her beautiful son on Friday the 13th of February. In an instant, this child became her life.

Sharing good times and times of struggles Anna rebuilds her life with Anthony. She provides for him the best she can and makes many sacrifices some mothers never would see themselves making. I cried for her loss when her precious son was taken from her.

How could a person continue to live, continue to want to live when her life was so at a loss? Anna Murray is a rare person who has gained tremendous strength from each loss and has emerged an emotionally-strong woman.

After a twenty-seven-year absence Anna takes a trip back to her beginnings in Africa. She is taken back by the nostalgia of the smell of Africa and emerges alive. Anna Murray has written a book, "Born on Friday 13th" that has enabled her to heal and shares her passionate life with us, her honored reader. I will carry Anna in my heart, and cherish each moment of my life to the fullest.