Grieving God's Way by Margaret Brownley

These are 90 devotionals aimed at healing the body, soul, heart and spirit after a loss. Each two-page devotional contains a verse, an anecdote, haiku and an instruction or exercise. The author wrote this a couple of years after her son died of a terminal illness and based it on her own recovery process. This book is well written and thorough. It was biblical and used Scripture frequently and well. I would recommend this book to anyone working through a loss, as I believe it would help draw a person closer to the Lord and give some structure to this painful process. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.

God Loves Broken People by Sheila Walsh

The author explores the relationship between brokenness, wounds, and God’s love. She illustrates each with a number of stories and doesn’t back away from the tough questions. Usually Sheila Walsh does an exceptional job in addressing her topic from her own life, but this book included an excessive number of others’ anecdotes and illustrations. Sheila did include a fair number of biblical citations and quotations. One plus in this book are the Three Solid Truths the author mentioned, including choosing to run to Jesus. This book was not as thorough or cohesive as most of Sheila Walsh’s books. While it was interesting, it was not as challenging, inspiring or enlightening as most of her books usually are. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.

The Book of Man by William J. Bennett

William Bennett compiled a collection of writings about man and war; work; play, sports and leisure; in the polis; with woman and children; and in prayer and reflection. In order to enjoy this book, you absolutely must enjoy reading a variety of authors in praise of each of these areas. Most of the authors are very well known; some of the most interesting articles are by writers who are more obscure.

Without doubt, some of the pieces included are some of the most eloquent ever written. Almost without exception, the authors are men, so this is really a book about men by men. Reading article after article about man and war, for example, can be a little daunting after a while.

I doubt that this anthology is meant to be read cover to cover, but it is a fine resource of writings by men about men. It is thorough and well presented.

I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.