I first came across Jane Devin's writing in 2007 on her online blog focusing on a wide variety of topics....everything from politics, family, poverty, child abuse and protection, women's experiences and the challenges of being a writer, to loving and the human condition. Let's just say Ms. Devin's never been one to shy away from the 'big issues'!

Then, late in 2009, with support from many of her online friends and fans, and some surprising (at least to her) corporate sponsorship, Jane left her life in Minnesota and boldly set out on a solitary cross-country journey. Challenging herself to explore this country and her own inner landscape in a way she never had before, she wrote about the trip and the people she met all along the way. That journey ultimately lead Jane to find her way to writing this book, a personal story that had eluded her for years, a book and a story that perhaps haunted her.

Today, finally, her compelling and ultimately inspiring story is available for readers everywhere who have an interest in the human condition, no matter how sometimes dark and frightening it may be. 'Elephant Girl' is written in Devin's unique voice that can be extremely graphic, conjuring harrowing visual imagery that would seem well suited for an indie film screenplay. At its core, it recounts a disturbing story and a difficult life that is illuminated by the author's sheer determination to survive and not allow the horrors of a broken childhood to defeat her, and elevated by the fascinating prose form she's uses to describe her experiences....and the choices they lead her to make along the way. It's a story--a life--that she's lived with courage and sublime creativity, and that she relates in a literary form that's engrossing and cathartic!

I can only suggest that you get it........read it.........be carried away by it!