The Life She Was Given is set in 1931. Nine year old Lilly Blackwood has never been outdoors. She has had no human contact other than with her parents. Lilly is confined to the dark, locked, secret attic of her home where she is fed only occasionally. Her mother tells her she must remain hidden because people will be afraid if they see her. Lilly has never seen herself because there are no mirrors in the attic, but she understands that something must be terribly wrong with her. Then, one night, Lilly’s mother does the unimaginable. She sells her child to a traveling circus as a freak show act, and walks away. Terrified and confused, Lilly is now property of a cruel and dark world, enduring unthinkable abuse and humiliation. Glory, another circus worker, steps in and advocates for Lilly. Glory takes Lilly under her wing and helps her adjust to this new life. Over time, Lilly grows, evolves, and manages to find love and inner strength in these harsh surroundings. As the years pass, she forges a special bond with two elephants, Pepper and JoJo, and eventually falls in love with their trainer, Cole. Lilly’s life, while still difficult, begins to have meaning and purpose. That is, until tragedy strikes….
Two decades later, Julia returns to her unhappy childhood home following the death of her mother. As she settles back into her inherited estate, Julia makes some shocking discoveries. She finds a journal in her father’s den, along with photographs of a mysterious circus woman, and later a strange, secret room she never knew existed. Determined to find answers, she investigates and uncovers a horrible family secret and the truth about her own identity.
The Life She Was Given is structured with chapters that alternate between the perspectives of two central characters – Lilly and Julia. Although their stories are twenty years apart, the transitions between them are seamless and flow beautifully. The character development of both is strong and well paced from start to finish. We see both of them begin their lives on trauma-induced shaky ground, but later evolve into strong, young women of substance – women who rise above and add value to the world. The imagery is profound and puts us right there with the characters – smelling the circus, breathing in the fear of a terrified little girl, hearing the desperate rumblings of caged animals. As a lover of animals, parts of this novel were very difficult to read but shed light on the way circus animals were treated during this era. Before you decide to read this book, understand that Wiseman presents this issue for exactly what it was – extremely graphic, heart wrenching abuse of animals at the hands of merciless handlers. The treatment of circus animals and even side show people during this time in history is infuriating and heartbreaking to say the least, and Wiseman appropriately does not candy coat any of it.
The Life She Was Given provides many themes on which to reflect – animal cruelty, child abuse, maternal rejection/abandonment and family betrayal. We are also painfully reminded of societal intolerance and maltreatment of people who are different. In that regard, we have come a long way since their exploitation in the 1930s, but the prejudice still exists even today. This is a great book, was well-written, and I think it would make a phenomenal movie. If you can handle the graphic and distressing elements described above, then I highly recommend this one for adult readers. You will fall in love with Lilly, Julia and all of the gentle giants Wiseman created, but you will never view circuses in the same way again.
“When I look at animals help captive by circuses, I think of slavery. Animals in circuses represent the domination and oppression we have fought against for so long. They wear the same chains and shackles.” – Dick Gregory
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