currently reading: The Beauty of Broken

"There is no such thing as a perfect family".  

This is the premise for Elisa Morgan's new book The Beauty of Broken.  Morgan is the former CEO of MOPS International and a well-known speaker in addition to authoring several books.  In this book, Morgan shares deeply personal stories from her own life.

I was attracted to the cover of this book and the fact that Morgan, being in charge of MOPS International, was writing honestly about her life.  It's easy to assume that leaders (especially Christian leaders) have everything under control, but it is encouraging to see how they will make an impact with "messy" lives.  In the book, Morgan covers a wide range of issues she's gone through in life including marriage, adoption, teen pregnancy, homosexuality, drug addiction, infertility, alcoholism, divorce, sibling relationships and death.  

Morgan writes that Christians often make family values into a formula, acting as thought if you do A, B and C, your children will turn out to be perfect, beautiful, godly adults.  From her own life experience, Morgan shows that it's usually not that easy.  Life, and especially parenting, is messy and complicated.  

At the end of each chapter Morgan includes a "breakthrough" section.  One of these wrote about going to "Church" with her husband and son.  As you read on, you realize that she's actually talking about AA.  I loved her description of AA as Church because I got the same feeling when I visited a few AA meetings - there was something holy and sacred about people being vulnerable and holding each other up even when they know the worst about you.

As much as I wanted to like this book, I fought against it.  In a forward, Morgan writes that this is her story and asks that we "don't judge" her family members based on what she wrote.  But it's not just her story.  And sometimes even though you are involved in someone else's story, it's still not yours to tell.  I truly hope that each family member read this before it was published and signed off on the sections pertaining to them.

More than that, however, was Morgan's endless need to put a positive (read: spiritual) spin on everything.  I understand that Christians want to see God's hand in everything, but I felt she took it too far.  {SPOILER ALERT} One example is when Morgan's grandbaby is born far too early.  She writes, "Tissue-paper skin.  Sunken lungs. Delicate limbs.  There was no way he could have lived in this world.  He was not made for it.  He was made for another world."  It made me angry - it is an overly romanticized, spiritualized view of death.  The baby wasn't "made for another world"; he just wasn't made to leave his mother's womb that early.  

I have mixed feelings about this book.  It was distasteful to read Morgan "[putting] a bow on everything' (something her daughter accuses her of in the book) by trying to force there to be beauty in everything or to write a good ending to a story that perhaps hasn't resolved yet.  But it was an easy read and could be an encouragement when family struggles and parenting seem overwhelming.

**I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest opinion.

currently reading: Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl

This book review is long, long overdue.  Usually I review a book within a couple weeks of receiving it, but this one arrived over six weeks ago!  Yikes!

I am very conflicted about this book - I'll do my best to explain why.  When I read the summary, I thought I would love this book and I was thrilled to be reviewing it.  But when it came and I actually started reading, I really labored over it.  The first few chapters were mind-boggling.  Each time I picked up the book, I literally got a headache and had to put it down within a few minutes.  I was thrown off by Wilson's style and really struggled to keep reading.  It was the first time I seriously considered not finishing a book I was given to review.  For me personally, the first chapters felt like I *was* on a tilt-a-whirl.  Since I wasn't following the book clearly, it felt like I was being spun around and couldn't tell up from down.  

Then, about four or five chapters in, I started to catch on a little bit, like I finally learned to go with the rhythm of the ride.  Soon I was pausing to marvel at Wilson's insight.  He changed the way I thought about creation, heaven and hell.  Throughout my days, I found myself thinking back to the book and looking at the world around me differently.  And isn't that what a good book is?  Not only did it change my thinking, it stuck with me and changed how I viewed life.

Overall, the poetic style of this book was difficult for me to follow.  I wasn't expecting it and I usually prefer books to be more straight-forward.  However, Wilson wrote such profound things that I want to read it again sometime.  Since I'm prepared for the unusual style, I think I'll enjoy it better.

Now that I am (finally!) finished with that book, I can start on the next two books on my list: Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer (a gift from my sister) and The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller (a gift from my friend, Megan).  I'm taking a short break from reviewing books for publishers to read these two!

**A copy of this book was given to me through BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.   

currently reading: Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me

"A memoir...of sorts."  That's the subtitle to Ian Morgan Cron's latest book (the first I've read of his) and it really does sum up the book perfectly.  The book was utterly engaging - Cron is a fantastic writer.  I read this book in about 24 hours because I kept wanting to pick it up whenever I had free time.

Cron tells the story of growing up in a strict Irish Catholic family, going to parochial school and living with an unstable alcoholic father.  At the age of 16, Cron was told that his father worked for the CIA, which came as a great surprise.  Cron writes about his own addictions throughout high school, college and young married life and how he eventually entered ministry.  He now works as an Episcopal priest.

What I loved about this "memoir of sorts" is that was easy to read.  It felt like reading fiction.  I would be reading along, laughing at some description, enjoying the book and then all of a sudden there would be a sentence that would hit me because of its truth and honesty.  He has a unique way of writing about Christianity, but it was refreshing and contemplative.  Each character, as well as each event, is vividly described.  As much as it was beautiful to read about his reverence and respect for his first communion, it was painful to read the way his father treated him.

At the beginning of the book, Cron explains that he is retelling all these events with a few changes.  But he reminds his readers that all stories are colored by the view of the person telling them.  He wrote: "This is a record of my life as I remember it - but more importantly, as I felt it."  That description is gold.  

**This book was sent to me from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

currently reading: Francis: Man of Prayer

When I was given the chance to review Francis: Man of Prayer by Mario Escobar, I jumped at the chance!  I was anxious to know more about this man as I had been following the news reports after he replaced Pope Benedict XVI and heard that he may bring significant changes in Catholicism.  I was interested in learning about his background as he is the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from the Americas (Argentina).

This book is divided into three parts.  The first focuses on his early life (birth through seminary and teaching positions).  The second part talks about his time as a Cardinal and the 2013 Conclave.  The third looks to the future at the challenges he must overcome and factors that make him unique.  Quotes from Pope Francis were scattered throughout, which I liked.  In addition to learning about his background, I learned more about the hierarchy of the Catholic church and especially the Vatican.  I am looking forward to seeing how Pope Francis leads the Catholic church in the coming years.

While my respect for Pope Francis grew after reading this book, I cannot recommend this book as a biography.  I assume that it was written in haste (in order to be published as soon as possible after Pope Francis was chosen).  There are several parts that seem like filler information, including a long portion about the dictatorship in Argentina and the background of the Jesuits.  Yes, these do have something to do with Pope Francis' life, but it really veered off the track of a biography in my mind.  At times it felt like reading a very long news article.  I do hope that people read more about Pope Francis, however, I think that they should find a better, clearer biography.





**I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

currently reading: Bread & Wine

I loved this book.  And, just to be clear, I've never begun a book review that way!  

Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes is Shauna Niequist's third book.  Unlike many other reviewers, I knew little about Niequist before I began the book.  Really, I only knew that she was a blogger, but I'd never even visited her site.  But with this book, she won me over.  It felt like I was hearing from a kinded spirit and, over and over, I found myself nodding, crying, laughing and drawing little pencil hearts in the margin to mark my favorite points.   

The book is arranged into four sections, each consisting of about 10 essays.  Most of the essays are followed by a recipe referenced therein.  I liked the essay format because it was easy to read a little at a time.  Food, of course, is the predominate theme throughout the book, but addition topics include Christianity, infertility, miscarriage, family, friends, body image/self-confidence, parenting, hospitality and running.  Her life was transparent in these pages.  Sometimes that was hilarious, for instance, when she talks about training to run a marathon ("the runners themselves kind of freaked me out").  Other times the honesty was sobering and convicting.  The essay 'Hail Mary' made me cry as she talked about being all alone in the hospital with a very sick baby and I thought of my own baby and how terrifying that would be.

Niequist is a foodie.  She admits to obsessing over dinner parties and getting carried away when planning events.  But it didn't come across as snobby.  In fact, what I loved about the book was that she urged the reader to 'Start Where You Are' (the title of one essay).  She says to "order pizza and serve it with a green salad and a bottle salad dressing."  In other words: don't let not being a perfect chef stop you from entertaining.  This same idea was seen in another essay 'Open the Door' where talked about hosting in less-than-perfect situations (e.g. a tiny apartment).  Over and over again, you see how Niequist sees food as a way to connect with people.  And that's what I loved.  This book was about food, yes, but it was about more than that.  

As I said before, I knew very, very little about Niequist before this book.  Through reading the book, I picked up on the fact that her parents must be well-known.  A quick Google search told me that she is the daughter of Bill and Lynne Hybels (the founders of Willow Creek Church).  Near the end of the book, she mentions hosting a dinner for a family friend named Shane.  As she described a little more about him I realized was Shane Claiborne.  While Niequist could have done a lot of name-dropping throughout the book (it's clear that her family is well-connected), I appreciated that she didn't.  She just wrote.  She was simply honest and, with that, she won me over.

Since I'd never read any of her other writing (blog or books), I do wonder if this could have felt like a repeat to some readers.  I have read other books by bloggers and, sometimes, it seems that they simply recycle their blog material and turn it into a book.  So much of this book is based on Niequist's life, so there may be repeated stories from other places.

When the book first arrived, I was itching to open it, but I had another book/review I needed to finish first.  So I just read the first essay.  I read a little aloud to my husband because I was so struck by it and he said, "I can already tell you're going to like this book.  This book is you."  We love trying new foods and I cook a lot, so I loved reading her descriptions and I'm looking forward to trying the recipes (tomorrow we're making the watermelon feta salad!).  Overall, I loved this book: the stories, the writing and (hopefully) the recipes.  I think it's a beautiful read for anyone who sees food and hospitality as an act of love.  One word of warning:  reading this will make you hungry!  :)

**I received a copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

Accepted to BookSneeze!

This week I heard that I was accepted to BookSneeze so I'll be getting more free books and blogging my reviews!

My first pick is Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist.  It should be here in a couple of week so I'm looking forward to reading it and sharing it with you.