I've just read this book in one night!!
I didn't intend to, but the honesty, rawness and sheer awful beauty of it kept me connected to Cameron's unbearably painful story.
Written by a 27 year old committed christian it isn't one of those "nice" Christian books full of platitudes and steps to success; rather it's one mans painful account of his and his ex-wife's failure to have the marriage God wanted.
As I read this tonight (start to finish in three hours!) what came across was not a person who wrote a book to get back at his ex partner, but some one who wanted to share his painful journey of learning what it means to really follow Jesus in every situation. The book doesn't end with a nice happy hollywood ending, rather it ends with the tension of living with continuing pain and a deep sense of failure and brokeness of the author, whilst living in the hope that someday (though not yet) good will be brought out of it.
As I read this tonight it deeply affected me, and i felt a great sense of connection with someone who struggles with easy answers to complicated situations as much I do. I got a lot out of it, even though I've never been married or divorced, and my lasting impression was of the faithfulness and love of God in the authors life, even when he or his wife was neither to each other. Cameron is honest in his struggles, and after finishing it, I felt the same deep sense of sadness that he must feel, yet also the sense of peace at a God who is there with us in difficult times. This book doesn't say that Divorce is ok, in fact it sadly shows that it's a last alternative when no choices are left between two people.
When I read this I realised that God hates Divorce, but works through the people who go through it. Loss, Brokenness, Responsibility, Commitment and Honesty are all discussed, but in very real ways, not idealogical theological theories.
I read this because some of my friends are going through this at the moment, and I wanted to try and understand what they were going through. I'm gonna reccomend this book to all of them because it's based in reality.
Excellent book, though very, very sad yet filled with an earthy, pain-filled hope.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Painful Truth.
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It takes a fairly robust slice of introspection to come through something like that without a lot of bitterness.
ReplyDeleteMy ex-husband and I are now good friends. I have a 11 year old and early on in our divorce we made the agreement that everything else aside (all of our problems, etc) my son's needs came first. It took some time but there has been a way to deal with the majority of it all together even from a distance in a civilized way.
ReplyDeleteIf people choose to be adults about it, it can be done without bitterness, and in time the sadness can be healed.
Having this illness (and the facing cancer a few years ago) has been a real eye opener for all of us of what IS important in life and that all of the other stuff really does not matter anymore.
I wish your friends the best as they have a long road ahead. I am sure they will get through just fine with the support of people like you.