Sentenced: A Memoir-Andrew Hawke & Victoria Oak

Book: Sentenced: A Memoir
Author: Andrew Hawke & Victoria Oak
Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing Limited

Do you think people come in our lives for a reason?

Sentenced: A Memoir is a true story that follows the journey of friendship that develops between the authors, Victoria, a London housewife and Andrew, a British citizen incarcerated in Thailand between 1998 and 2013. Focusing on the letters they exchanged from the two ends of the world, the narratives trace how a common thing can change the lives of two people. Spanning from their childhood to the present, the narrative reads almost like fiction as we encounter the ups and downs in both their lives. A story of entrapment and freedom, it is also a story of the ability of humans to overcome the harshest of situations and come out of it.

To begin with I would like to put this out there that this book demands attention. The way the narrative is structured, I would not recommend a skim read, but to savor the words Andy and Vicky have penned. The narration is powerful, and we see the story of two people unfold who seem so different that their coming on a common path seems unimaginable. Using letters as a bridge between the lives of Vicky and Andy, we see how their lives shape up as they continue serving their sentences. The title of the book actually makes sense towards the end as they make the reader realize that being sentenced does not always being in jail. Sometimes you can be held prisoner by emotions and relationships under the garb of societal conformity. The language is fluid, and the letters present and portray a side of both our authors from a perspective of the immediate emotion they felt. Andy’s descriptions of the “Bangkok Hilton” are detailed, and it gives us a unique insight into the conditions he lived in and how his life shaped up.

The book is an excellent read for someone who likes to read heartfelt memoirs and who wish to read stories filled with emotions. Vicky and Andy have bared their deepest emotions and the deepest fears in the best possible way, almost to the extent that one would feel to write a letter immediately to both of them. The flow of the story is smooth, and the overlapping of incidents helps the reader create a visual map of the events as they take place. I loved the vivid descriptions by Vicky of the journeys she took as a part of her healing and has inspired me to maybe take such a trip of my own. Andy is a powerful storyteller, and his words have power to keep a reader hooked.

Overall, a book worth reading and a story worth remembering for its not just the story of 2 people who met by chance, but it is also a story of hope, friendships, and the idea of being human and what it truly stands for. The book gets a 4.75/5 from me.

Grab a copy of the book here!

This review is a part of the blog tour organised by Literally PR.