Reviews for HATTIE

Once you start you won’t be able to put it down. I was completely drawn into this book from page 1. The way the author took you on an amazing journey with Hattie and wrote in a way that I literally felt at times I was seeing her experiences so vividly was fantastic. I will suggest this book to many!!! A MUST READ!!

Elizabeth Naylor 2019

What a woman, what a story. I met author, Anna Bozena Bowen this summer at a writers conference. Liked her immediately for the warm and engaging woman she is. I was excited to read her book, and little did I know how much I would love her book. The story of Hattie grabbed me from the beginning. I was intrigued by the story and character and mesmerized by the beautiful and powerful voice of Anna Bozena Bowen. Hattie is every woman. Hattie has the endurance and strength, the magical essence of women everywhere. I like a book with an arc and strong meaningful ending…and this book did not disappoint. Thank you Anna, for writing an amazing book.

Laura L. Engel 2018

Beautiful prose in a story that eaves through Hattie’s life. I was immediately drawn into the story by the simple and beautiful prose. The story is written in layers that weave through Hattie’s life and I felt I was discovering her character as more stories were disclosed. By the end of the story, I felt I was breathing Hattie’s breath. Her vulnerability and resilience was compelling so that even though her life story was difficult in many ways, I wanted to read more and have Hattie triumph. It is the kind of story that keeps coming back into my thoughts long after finishing the book.

Kelly H. Amazon 2021

Hattie is a unique book with a gorgeous author voice…. Beautifully rich prose full of emotion. Marketing suggestion: Consider a screenplay.

Judge, 22nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards 2014

I’ve never read anything quite like HATTIE. The author draws the reader into Hattie’s singular world with deceptively simple but pitch-perfect language. There isn’t an extra word, sentence, character, or detail in this spare but deep rendering of a woman who has become separated from herself as a result of an abusive relationship. The story captures the awakening of Hattie’s soul, still pristine within her, as she moves from sorrow to acceptance to an appetite for life and experience that had been destroyed.

Many women will relate to HATTIE, not just women who have lived through abusive relationships because the quiet inner process of a woman claiming herself is the subject of this evocative novel, not the abuse. The ways a woman can become cut off from her creative core when her relationships or her work do not fit is something every woman will be able to share. The sentences are a pleasure to read, even as Hattie’s experience is flooded with the universal sorrow of loss. The soulful particularity of this woman and the way she seems to hesitantly share her inner life with the reader is exquisitely and flawlessly paced….

Maris Nichols October 2014

What can I say about this beautifully written, poignant book that hasn’t already been said? It is rich with eloquent writing and powerful images. It grabs you by your heart, and pulls you into Hattie’s world. From the opening lines, I was captivated by Hattie’s voice, as she struggles to come to terms with what life has dealt her. Her story, like ours, is one of struggle and loss, and of the power of love and redemption. Some passages are so profound, and beautiful, they took my breath away. We want to know this woman. … We want to know what helps her keep going, against tremendous odds, and what ultimately saves her. Here is wisdom for all of us, just let Hattie tell you her story.

Leslie Matlen October 2014