"I just finished the most beautiful memoir of a love so true that it will stay in my head and heart forever. I wish I had met Kayla, but at least I know and love her mom. Your book is beautiful. Love you so much."
Rose N.
I just finished your book, and I have tears running down my face. What a beautiful piece to honor Kayla. After all you have been through to put it in words . . . you are braver than I imagined. Well done, Donna
Shar B.
Straight to the Heart I happen to know this author, but certainly did not know the depth of what had transpired. I know the love she had and has in her heart. I finished the book in tears. It is an excellent read and heartfelt. It takes a very brave person to write all of this in words that touch those who read it.
willy
A must read A mother‘s love. A dramatic story of growing up having a child, struggling and losing that precious child. Coming out on the other side. The family that stood beside her and the very strong lessons learned. Heartfelt story of survival.
ALMS
Strong, heartwarming, and real. The beautiful, tragic life of a young girl, her mother's pain, and how one person can make your world change. A mother's love story. A husband's strength.
Rose T.
I read your book. Cried a lot. I'm not a mother yet, but you really conveyed the hardship and raw honesty of loving and losing Kayla. I loved every page.
J.C.
Beautiful memoir of deep love and sorrow. An extremely interesting account of deep sorrow and an even deeper love. Succumbing to the fun side of the 80's-drugs, alcohol, sex, and rock & roll, made for a very challenging lifestyle. Donna readily admits to her shortcomings as a parent but her love brings out the fierce mama bear to protect and try to save her daughter. And eventually she finds the love and strength to save herself. Beautifully written but heart-wrenching.
Rose
Amazing and touching story of a mothers love! 5-star read! I absolutely loved this book. It was an easy, captivating read that I couldn’t put down. The story was emotional, raw, and beautifully written, with characters and moments that stay with you long after you finish. It made me want to hug my family a little tighter and appreciate the people I love. I highly recommend this one…it’s a powerful, heartfelt page-turner.
Stacey N.
Amazing and touching story of a mothers love! I love this book. I couldn't put it down. Her words jump off the page at you as if you're along for the ride, like she's sitting next to you telling her story. It's deeply touching, honest, raw, beautiful memoir of unthinkable loss of her only child and the grief that consumed her. It's a story of the immense power of a mother's love, her strength and tenacious courage to fight for her daughter at every turn and the unexpected emergence of peace. It's written in a style that makes you feel like you're on the journey with Donna. Thank you Donna for sharing your brave heart and soul with us.
Stacey W.
Worth every penny! What a great read. Donna really conveyed the hardship and raw honesty of loving and losing her daughter. I loved every page. Part of me wishes the book was 400 pages longer because her stories are so interesting.
Jenna
Read more poetry- specifically this book! Read these poems in a day! Very entertaining and insightful. The poems towards the end are my favorite.
Jenna
WOW, Donna. I just finished your book and it was wonderful. You really wrote a great, really raw, real book. I felt it, I cried, and I wanted you to know I loved it and I'm really proud of you. And perhaps my favorite part was the chapter about signs and being open and perceptive to them. . . because I absolutely believe in that too. I love you!
Leah
Powerful, Raw and Honest! This book will grab you, hold you and shake you! A must read for anyone dealing with tragedy. You will not need a bookmark, because you will not put it down.
Charlie W.
A Spectacular Ride! Donna Nichols is the toughest local woman at the biker beach bar—the one who has finally decided you can handle the truth about what’s really been going on around these parts. Her voice is blunt, warm, wickedly funny, and completely uninterested in making herself look respectable—which is about as respectable as a person can get. *Life Without K* belongs to the Florida of Neverland vacations that never quite end. Sticky, salt-caked bars buzzing with local flies. Bikers roaring in and out. Cocaine traveling faster than good judgment. A party that keeps going because nobody wants to ask what happens when it stops. Born from gritty Florida relationships that cling like sand in your ass crack, chafing you raw through a marathon nobody said you were allowed to quit. Sharpened by questionable split-second decisions, spectacular lapses in judgment, and Donna’s stubborn talent for surviving her own damn choices—then examining them with courageous self-awareness. She could have buried everything beneath one of those feel-good, post hoc fairy tales in which every footprint gets blamed on the swamp. She could have dismissed K’s voice as imagination. She could have stayed trapped in the dark muck, felt its suction tighten around her ankles, and called it fate. She didn’t. In a land governed by transform or die, Donna grew wings and learned to fly. With K’s voice as her guide, she circled back over her own life. The good. The bad. The beautiful. The god-awful. She refused to look away. She glided above a landscape populated by sweaty liars with liquor-thin blood, overlooked misfits with bones of rebar, Oxygators, Perc Pirates, and leather-skinned people who have lived too long beneath the Florida sun to pretend they know what the hell is going on. Then Donna reached into that sky, pulled down the story K wanted her to find, and brought it home. Now she has given it to us. We’re better for having it. A truly Floridian tale. Oh, you’ll laugh. You’ll judge her. You’ll reconsider. Then you’ll keep reading because now you absolutely need to know what happens next. It is funny, fearless, heartbreaking, and unmistakably genuine. Don’t worry if you aren’t a local. The ride may get a little bumpy for tenderfeet, but Donna knows the terrain. She knows where to point, when to laugh, and when to let the hurt sit there. Think you’re worth a damn? Maybe. If you are, strap yourself to a barstool, shut your piehole, tape your eyes open, and hang on tight. It’s going to be one wonderfully wild ride. You’re about to see the Florida no spring-break postcard could ever prepare you for—and you’re going to love every Florida mile.
Chasechylus
I couldn't put it down! Such a powerfully written memoir dedicated to the love and devotion for her daughter!! I couldn't put it down and finished in about 3 hours. Donna is a natural storyteller and I was so impacted by her words and the may analogies she'd used in dealing with the grief of losing Kayla. This is a must read for all, especially if you've lost a child.
Tracy K.
The human spirit is resilient and how is changes you through life’s circumstances is powerful. Wow is all I can say! Anyone who has lost a loved one should read this! Heck, anyone should read this either way because it’s so good! I could not put this book down. What an amazing story of resilience, heartbreak, and perseverance! Also, the way in which Donna tells this story will have you hanging on every word. It never ceases to amaze me how the human spirit can endure so much and still come out on the other side. Pain is hard and I don’t wish it on anyone. However, what a beautiful testament to what us humans can get through and how it shapes us into such beautiful people!
Brandy T.
An emotional read An emotional memoir, one that takes the readers into the life of the author with every chapter. She’s able to pull the reader into her experience, as if the pages fade away and you are sitting beside her as she tells you her story. You feel her pain, fear, heartbreak, anger and ultimately, her ability to breathe again. But most of all, you feel her immeasurable love for her daughter.
LC
From the heart This is a must read story for sure. Who hasn’t doubted themselves as a parent ? She writes it with raw emotion and brings you in the moment with her life and choices she made. There is no perfect parent and she clearly admits her short comings and the consequences…gut wrenching story that pulls at your heartstrings…. Life can be filled with such sorrow but it’s all about unconditional love. She brings that point to your heart.
Donna B
Couldn’t stop reading til the book was finished! What a wonderful book. Vivid details really help transport me into Donna’s shoes. It was gripping and so interesting; I really didn’t leave the couch until I was finished with the whole book. I laughed, I teared up, and was totally moved by this book. I highly recommend buying it!
Leah B.
Captivating page turner! I read this in one sitting because it was so hard to put down. What a tragic story, and an ending I was not expecting. The writing style made it feel like a story from a friend, not reading a book.
Jessica T.
Great book Sucked me in right from the beginning. Very well written and descriptive. Couldn't put it down!
H. Simmonds