This book is the first book I read as I began my project. I found it on the New York Times best seller list and it had an interesting premise. A man loses his young daughter in a horrifying kidnapping and murder crime and struggles to deal with his feelings of guilt, anger, and loss. God invites him to come back to the shack where the crime takes place and spend the weekend with him. So far it sounds pretty interesting, right? Things get a little strange when he gets to the shack and God the Father is represented by a large black woman, Jesus is represented by Jesus, and the Holy Ghost is represented by an Asian woman.
Although the strange portrayal of God didn't appeal to me and I grew tired of the long sermons on how things really are, I still liked the story. We all have demons in our lives that haunt us for years and the truth is we need God, maybe not God as a large black woman, but God Himself to help us work through them.
Let me know if you have read this book or have any insights to share.
Sorry to start out with a bummer response! I tried to read this last spring. I just couldn't get into it. I ended up putting it down & not finishing it - a first for me. Maybe because it came with such rave reviews from friends I had unrealistic ideas of how it was going to be. I just couldn't seem to get by the idea of God choosing to appear as a Black woman!
ReplyDeleteAll comments are great! That's fine that you didn't like it. I didn't think I was going to make it through in the middle, but was glad I did. I seems that there has been a lot of hype over this book. I'm not sure I agree with it all, but I think it is great that people are interested in hope and healing.
ReplyDeleteI too tried this book. It was recommended by someone at my school.I did like the beginning, but when the black woman thing started I just didn't continue. How does it end?
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how it ends because would spoil it for other readers, but I will give you a clue that it is pretty much the same thing that happens when Jesus comes into anyone's life. Even if in this book he's in a little different form.
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