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Book Review Tuesday: Torch in the Dark



About the Book:
Torch in the Dark tells the moving story of how Hadiyah Joan Carlyle, a single mother haunted by memories of her own traumatic childhood, pioneered as one of the first women since World War II to enter the trades as a union welder. Beginning in a Jewish immigrant neighborhood in New Jersey, the story moves through San Francisco’s colorful Haight-Ashbury in the sixties to arrive at Fairhaven Shipyard in Bellingham, Washington. For Hadiyah, welding becomes a metaphor for healing from the dark past as well as a path to self-reliance and economic survival.

While providing insightful perspective on the culture of the 1960’s and 1970’s, Torch in the Dark offers profound inspiration for anyone struggling with issues of abuse and oppression.

Overall Thoughts:
I had a bit of a hard time getting into this memoir as the writing is more blunt and pointed into the facts at the beginning. As you get past the first few chapters, you start to understand and see through Hadiyah’s eyes. She tells a very compelling story about how she dealt with many facets of life I’m sure readers will never encounter during their lifetime. Your heart is pulled in many different directions and at times you find yourself wanting to reach into the pages to mentor and guide as you see the choice about to be made will lead down a long, pot filled and brush covered path.

What I found most appealing about this book is how Hadiyah didn’t allow others to influence her as she grew and began carving out a future. She held to the beliefs she gained through those troubled times which helped her discover herself and the relationship she has with her son. As a once single mother myself, I related to much of what Hadiyah went through and I applauded her for persevering through it all.

Publisher: Book Publishers Network; 1st edition (March 20, 2012) 
ISBN-10: 1937454231
ISBN-13: 978-1937454234
Genre: Memoir
Available in Print & eBook
Purchase a copy at: Elliott Bay Books, Couth Buzzard Books, Village Books, Amazon, SmashWords, B&N and anywhere indie books are sold online.

About the Author: 
Hadiyah Joan Carlyle grew up in a Jewish immigrant neighborhood in New Jersey, became active in the Civil Right movement of the sixties and migrated to San Francisco’s colorful Haight-Ashbury to be part of the counter-culture there. In the seventies, she was the first and only female shipyard welder in Bellingham, Washington, north of Seattle.

In the eighties, Hadiyah returned to the East coast to earn her MSW at Rutgers University. In 2003, she completed the certificate program in Memoir Writing through the University of Washington Extension. She is an active member of Seattle’s thriving community of writers.

Today Hadiyah lives in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood close to her son, Washington State 36th district Legislator Reuven Carlyle, his wife Dr. Wendy Carlyle and their four children. Activist, hiker, devoted grandmother, Hadiyah delights in the wild beauty of the Northwest while remaining connected to her gritty urban East Coast roots.

Though welding is no longer a part of her life, she continues to carry the torch for the empowerment of the oppressed.

You can find out more about Hadiyah Joan Carlyle, Torch in the Dark and her World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/chrfo3t

Follow Hadiyah Joan Carlyle at
Twitter @CarlyleHadiyah

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com

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