Ghost No More: Ghost No More, Book 1

By: CeeCee James

Narrated by: Julia Farmer

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Not all mothers are nurturing and caring. This is a true story of a woman who controlled her child through fear, and how her daughter escaped the emotional and physical abuse. But to truly move forward and thrive in the future, the daughter has to do more than just survive the past. This story is about that survival and journey toward happiness.

Behind the glitz and the glamour of the beauty queen mother lies a web of secrets. CeeCee is a child desperate for a touch of approval, the love of her mother. Her reality is her mom's retreating back, abandoning CeeCee in front of a burning car.

But somewhere amid the chaos and despair, CeeCee holds onto something precious, the only thing that drives her on - hope.

Ghost No More is a child abuse true story that proves joy can be found beyond abuse.

©2014 CeeCee James (P)2016 CeeCee James

Sad story great ending

Of course the story was heartbreaking, but as she walked us through the healing process and learned that God never thought she was bad and her not continuing the abuse with her children, and God bringing her to that place of healing was heartwarming.

I think this book would be good for teens and up.

What a great writer I will be reading the next one.

Powerful story of redemption

I had read the book, so I knew what to expect in the story. The details were challenging to hear and, although many details are different from my experiences, it still struck a lot of nerves. It is important to remember that the memories are through the eyes of a child. There are some things that an adult will recognize as, perhaps, seeming implausible...like mowing "acres" of grass with a push mower. However, in the eyes and memory of a child, it would definitely seem like literal acres. So, while some may try to challenge her memories because of things like that, I think they just add validity and authenticity. I would be more surprised if they were described in adultlike precision. The more I learn about how the brain and memory work together, the more I see the truth in her account.

CeeCee tells her story in snippets, but those snippets are enough to give us a clear picture of the battles she faced. As an abuse survivor who has travelled a long road herself, I know there will be more battles to come. But they will be more like skirmishes, for CeeCee has already won the major battles. This book is actually part of a series. I have read book 2 and look forward to reading book 3 at some point.

I recommend CeeCee James as an author.

The reader does an outstanding job of portraying each character. Her voice is easy to listen to. I do not often listen to audio books, but if I do listen again, I hope the reader is Julia Farmer...or at least someone who is as talented as she is.

Conflictingly Good

It was hard to get through this book, because of all the things the poor little girl goes through. But I found myself rooting for her, pushing forward in hopes she would conquer and be free. I was not disappointed.

Reader Comments

As a survivor of child abuse myself I highly recommend this book to every survivor of child abuse. Reading what CeeCee James experienced helped me to heal from my own experiences with child abuse.

Sad but Beautiful

Such sorrow with beautiful ending.
Narrator did a great job.
Very inspiring read. Highly recommend.

From hell to healing

CeeCee James allows herself to become extremely vulnerable as she shares her story of a hateful earthly mother and loving eternal Father.

Encouraging and Inspiring!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This was a great book to listen to and I would recommend it to my friends because it made me feel like I was right there with CeeCee. Very eye opening to what some children go through and encouraging seeing how there is still hope and beauty in life in that can be found.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved this book about how one small girl found hope and joy in the midst of a terrible upbringing. No child should experience the things that CeeCee did, but listening to her thoughts and how she overcame was very inspiring.

Which character – as performed by Julia Farmer – was your favorite?

My favorite character in this book was CeeCee of course! A memoir is such a personal thing to listen to and the reader did such a great job of bringing the story to life. I felt like I was right there with her.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I couldn't walk away from this audiobook. I was completely drawn in and wondering what was going to happen next.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend!!

Heartbreaking and inspiring

This book breaks your heart, but makes you know that you can overcome anything. You can make sure that abuse doesn't define who you are. This story also helps people realize that whatever they are going through, it could be worse. But no matter what, God loves you and together you can endure and overcome the obstacles. It also reminds you that you never know what some people are going through, be careful how you treat them. I love this book. I would recommend it to anyone that struggles or has struggled with any type of abuse, or suffers from anxiety and/or depression.

Captivating story of child challenges

Would you listen to Ghost No More: Ghost No More, Book 1 again? Why?

I usually don't read/listen to books a second time around, so my answer would be no. However, the first time I listened to it I did so while getting lost in a painting project. It was nice and relaxing, and the story really took me in so that I was hardly aware of my hand holding the brush and moving over the canvas. My mind was totally engaged in the story! It was really intriguing, so I'm sure there would be at least one other listener that would be more than happy to turn the file on repeat.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ghost No More: Ghost No More, Book 1?

For me, the most memorable part was a part that only briefly came up in the novel: CeeCee's eating disorder. This is because I myself have struggled with anorexia and have written a novel (Just Perfect) about my own experiences with this disorder.

Another particularly poignant scene was when CeeCee's mother made her something that she saw as her mother's show of love to her (I'm trying to keep this vague for those that still want to listen to the audio book, but in this scene CeeCee's mother told her that every stitch of the present was an 'I love you' to her). The next morning, CeeCee's mother told her that she had only said this to make her shut up. This was incredibly poignant!

What about Julia Farmer’s performance did you like?

The way Julia Farmer changed her intonation and voice when she switched characters was really enjoyable to listen to, and it made it easy to know who was speaking.

Any additional comments?

Although not my usual novel (can I honestly say I have a 'usual' when I switch genres so frequently?), the book captured my full attention and left me captivated until the end. It wasn't 'suspense' in the usual sense of the word, but I nonetheless was intrigued and needed to know how CeeCee would survive the difficult experiences of her past. How she would come out of it. The novel was incredibly touching, poignant, and brutally honest. I genuinely praise the author's bravery for putting pen to paper regarding such tough childhood memories!

Stirs many emotions. I recommend reading it

Well written. Great story of surviving a traumatized childhood. This is a true story every mother should read.