An intensely personal manual outlining both the challenges and the hopes of key aspects of the Christian experience.
A guide explores some of the trials facing modern-day Christians.
In this slim book, Bryant (God’s Servant, 2016, etc.) intertwines general observations about the problems facing fundamentalist Christians with more specific autobiographical segments. She tells the story of her spiritual overcompensations, at one point becoming a “prude” with no visible humanity. She recalls having a mental breakdown and being hospitalized in 2000, emerging in a fragile, unformed state and embarking on a “roller coaster” ride in her personal and spiritual life. The theme running through most of her personal tales is one of self-help, of having the strength and perspective to concentrate on herself. “I learned that the best way to demonstrate that I loved the ones who cared for me,” she writes, “was to take care of myself.” And the author keeps her eye on the bigger picture, reminding her readers that when it comes to invidious self-doubt and the envy of others, they should remember always that the only relationship they need to prioritize is the one with the Lord. The author recounts her struggles with self-image in moving terms; she finally reminded herself that she was as God made her. The book’s standout flaw stems directly from Bryant’s unwillingness to extend such understanding, implying at one point that both promiscuity and gay sexuality are the direct results of the “shame, confusion, and guilt” of sexual abuse. When the author herself was the victim of inappropriate fondling, she remembers that she briefly found herself attracted to women until intense prayer created a breakthrough and allowed her to throw off her “oppression.” The rest of the book is more welcoming, reminding Christian readers that they are called to service rather than status. The whole text is rendered in a clear, approachable tone that should appeal to readers who have been encountering obstacles of their own in their faith journeys.
An intensely personal manual outlining both the challenges and the hopes of key aspects of the Christian experience.Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-68197-012-7
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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