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Book Review: You Don’t Know Me

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You Dont know me

You Don’t Know Me begins with a mysterious goodbye. Then, Annalise Decker alludes numerous times to her fragile existence. But the reason why it’s fragile is not fully understood until her Witness Security agent shows up. To the townspeople of Deep Haven, the Deckers look like the perfect family, but inside, they’ve got their problems, too.

Her mother-in-law, Helen has secrets.

Her husband, Nathan has secrets.

Her son, Jason has secrets.

Her daughter, Colleen has secrets.

And her son, Henry wants a different life with skateboarding, rather than the one he has with soccer.

The secrets turn into a nest of lies, and Annalise wonders what the town would do if they discovered she’d lied to them over 20 years? She’s very good at lies, and doesn’t know how to separate truth from fiction any longer.

You Don’t Know Me tackles themes of integrity, trust and self-worth by fleshing out how bad choices affect those around us. And when grace and forgiveness come back into play, the Deckers learn hard times make you stronger and more compassionate. Their struggle to trust God and each other brings them to wonder, how does family stick together when their world falls apart?

“What if God doesn’t give me the happy ending I want?”

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Author Susan May Warren says, “I believe I am called to be authentic and honest in my storytelling. As a Christian woman, I am not interested in cardboard characters with unrealistic struggles who receive pat answers. Life can be overwhelming and at sometimes messy and confusing. Relevant faith-filled fiction deals with that and yet offers hope. I don’t presume to know all the answers. I just try and write stories about people learning to walk in faith, every day trusting God just a little bit more.”

Susan May Warren has lived up to her desire to portray real people with real struggles. You Don’t Know Me brings raw emotions to the surface and weaves them into a can’t-put-it-down-book. Bravo!

Sally

Note: I received this book as part of the Tyndale Rewards Program. I received no compensation for this review.


Encouragement, Faith, Reviews

Book Review: The Stress Cure: Praying Your Way to Personal Peace

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Stress Cure

Do you think The Stress Cure: Praying Your Way to Personal Peace might be an unrealistic premise? Anytime you use a hook and promise a “cure,” you set the bar high. Can Shepherd deliver?

Linda Evans Shepherd “is the author of over thirty books, including How to Pray through Hard Times (which won the 2012 Selah Christian Life Award), Experiencing God’s Presence, When You Don’t Know What to Pray, and When You Need a Miracle (which won the 2013 Selah Christian Life Award).” But her qualifications are born in the school of suffering, where she struggled with the questions of life’s fairness in her eighteen-month-old daughter’s injurious car accident.

There are gems sprinkled throughout the book:

“Building a bridge to peace involves gaining a better understanding of God and the tools he’s given us, which include prayer and God’s Word.” (p. 15)

“Having (God’s) Spirit inside us doesn’t necessarily mean we know how to yield to him. And this yielding could very well be the key to experiencing less stress in our lives.” (p. 31)

Yielding to God’s Spirit could very well be the key to experiencing less stress in our lives.

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“If everything always went our way, how would we ever discover that God can flip our difficulties into good…?” (p. 38)

“The best way to develop a grateful heart is to learn how to walk in step with God.” (p. 66)

“Jesus changes our hearts from a slum to a palace fit for his presence.” (p. 94)

“If you are caught up in situations beyond your control, the solution is not figuring out how God can save you; it’s trusting that he will.” (p. 97)

“When our negative attitude comes because we don’t like where we are or what we have, we need to do a ‘will’ check: God’s will versus our will.” (p. 137)

Shepherd is a gifted storyteller, weaving details of Scripture in narrative form in order to clearly illustrate God’s truths. She’s so good at the craft, in the middle of a story, she turns the point back home to point out personal application. So much so, that you don’t see it coming!

But the biggest “ah ha” for me, came in the stories of her own battles surrounding her infant daughter’s car accident, coma and resulting disabilities. Shepherd clearly understands the need for stress relief in its many forms, and her narrative is a reminder of the power of story to connect a reader to the greater truths of God’s love, care and compassion.

This is an important book, because Shepherd brings hope. She reminds each one that “God is with you. He’s at work in your circumstances now.” (p. 77)

Is there anyone who does not experience stress in some form today? This book is a must-read for all. It provides space to stop reading in order to write out a personal application, as well as modeling steps of prayer to process the change needed. It provides fresh insight into troublesome stories in the Bible and reminds us of our calling to love and be loved.

Could Shepherd deliver on her promise to bring a stress cure? Yes, she did! The illustrations, Scripture passages and written-out prayers all served as a stress reliever, ushering in the peace of Christ!

Sally

Disclaimer: I received this book as a contest giveaway in The Book Club Network, Inc.