Monday, 16 May 2016

80. Wye Oh Wye: Diary for Dede by Annie Razid


BOOK REVIEW: Wye Oh Wye – Diary for Dédé by Annie Razid

Being a true blue Malaysian at heart, I always put my Malaysian authors at the forefront as my first choice of reading material to go to. Once a fresh faced author pops onto the scene, I’m the first to lay my hands on the tomes that they lovingly and painstakingly share with the readers. Luck was on my side one sunny Saturday morning. As I was talking to my TESOL lecturer, Mr. Lim, a gracious gentleman in his 70’s who shares the same passion for books as me, he handed me a hardcover book that very much resembled an olden days diary.

Mr. Lim was gushing on about his happiness in meeting an old acquaintance who happened to be a writer too. As they were deep in conversation, the wonder woman, Ms. Annie Razid, handed him a book. It is the first book she is writing and soon to be launched nationwide. And by now all of you would have guessed the book I’m referring to was the one that Mr. Lim parted with to let me have the privilege of setting my eyes on first. The book cover actually gives the first insight into what the book holds. The intricate artwork of trees carrying autumn leaves on its branches and a lone girl standing between the path laden with these trees was heart warming yet gave a sense of sadness and hardship. A cute photo of a chubby kid with face paint and his two friends and a photo of a suave gentleman with presumably his gorgeous daughter and a handsome son suggest a storyline of a family from the time it bloomed till later years. However, the story may not be so simple and everything doesn’t end in a fairytale. Readers, have a box of tissues nearby as this story will make you cry and also laugh as Annie Razid shares her life with you.

The story tells the tale of Annie Razid going through her 3 phases of post-divorce. The journey of how she went to England, where her fairytale began, when she was a young wife and everything was perfect. Still lost and in denial, Annie went back to Wye in order to relive her happy memories, looking for the love she always wanted and wishing she could turn back time. As time passed by however Annie kept on returning to Wye but no longer in denial, Annie started her own journey of self discovery through the new people she met, and the old friendships she reconciled. After going through too many phases of constant let downs, Annie finally realized her purpose of life, this story tells Annie’s journey from how she started getting attracted to Wye to how she learned to let go.

Heart-wrenchingly poignant yet motivating, this book has moved me to the point of no return. Written in exactly the same way as how she wrote her diary of her life, Annie Razid has evoked a strong message that all of us out here can take a page from. Love doesn’t necessarily have to be a bed of roses, it can also become a path of thorns that penetrates deep into the heart only to leave permanent scars. However hard it may seem to rebound from that form of pain, there comes a time when you have to move on not only for yourself but for those you love. God gives us rightfully what’s ours and when the time comes He shares it with someone else who needs it more than we do.  A few lines that tugged at my heartstrings and made me fond of the author (a super-mom and an iron lady for all the right reasons): “Don’t give up on love...don’t even struggle to find love. Because darling, you are LOVE! You are ‘Being Love’. You are ‘Being’ and you are ‘Love’!”


I cross my fingers that this book’s launching is a successful one as I want every soul out there to read this story to understand the true and sincere meaning of love and how life is one, huge fairytale that can take unexpected lurches when you least expected. Beautifully woven and with each line holding soupcons of feelings, I highly recommend this as a book to be read, cherished and passed down through generations as the messages will never fade from your heart...

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