A Book Review
I won a contest hosted by Sarah at In The Midst of It! Three of her lucky readers received a copy of Amy Grant's newest book, "Mosaic." The only catch was that we had to promise to write a review of the book after we read it. I, of course, was absolutely delighted as I am pretty certain that I have to be Amy Grant's "biggest fan" :). I must admit that I have been a little nervous about writing this book review. I am going to start with a little of why I have always liked Amy Grant so much. Please bear with me, writing a review is new territory! I will try not to bore too much :).
Growing up, I really think that my parents took me to almost every Amy Grant concert that came to my town. They saw in my sisters & I a real love for music and they wanted to develop that in a Godly way. So, they were the parents to always drive the kids in the youth group to see Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, etc. I know now that it was not necessarily their favorite music, but they wanted us to have good influences and a healthy alternative to what the world offered.
My first time hearing Amy Grant, in fact, was when she was probably sixteen and I think traveling with the Gaithers. I was in awe then as a young girl. Growing up, my friends always called me by her name since I loved to sing, had brown eyes, and long, naturally curly, brown hair. My head probably grew at least five inches everytime someone said that! Looking back, though, I realize that my faith and early belief systems grew and developed as a result of her music. Those lyrics were so basic, yet so profound in the faith.
I loved Amy Grant's book, "Mosaic." Really, I tried not to be biased and I do not think I was. The book offered bits and pieces of insight into Amy's life, her career, her loves, some of her trials, etc. I will say that it did not "hand-feed" the reader all of the information, and certainly left me wondering on my own about some of the details. It also left me wanting more, which I think is a very good thing with a book!
Each chapter can stand on its own, which is nice for busy moms who only have time to pick up a book whenever there is a free moment. Many of the chapters made me think and want to re-assess some areas in my own life. I like that in a book! I love how she included lyrics to many of her songs and the corresponding stories that prodded her to write those lyrics.
I do wish that maybe her timeline would have come at the beginning of the book. I know that would probably seem odd to start it that way, but I think it would have helped fill in some of the gaps first.
What was surprising to me, although I am not sure why, was the loss she has gone through. She wrote about it in such a way that I could really feel and understand her raw emotion. I think that it took courage for her to share some of her life's details and I appreciated that.
I always suspected that she was very "real" and down-to-earth. Although I have never met her in person, she never seemed to be showy or outlandish on stage or in interviews. Her book seemed to further solidfy my views of her.
One chapter in particular really stood out to me. The chapter entitled, "Dorothy Lee" was especially moving in its discussion of grief. The statements were made, "You know, you cannot rush grief...we prod and push the bereaved to move on, to go through the motions of living. Grief has its own timetable. What a concept. The time it takes to heal is the time it takes."
My husband and I recently have gone through another miscarriage (our third through the years). We are so grateful to have the children that God has given us. We do not take them for granted. I know that miscarriages are common; they happen everyday, everywhere. But it still hurts. Just when I think I am over it, sadness comes for a visit again. I know I will heal. God has healed my hurts through the years and given me strength. But, it is nice to know that when everyday is not "sunshine and roses" and I am not on everyone else's timetable for healing, it is okay! So, thanks, Amy for the candid discussions on grief and loss.
As I am going back through this book review, I realize that maybe I have talked too much about myself. But, is that not something good in a book if it can make you personalize it and help you walk in another's shoes? And, leave you "wanting more," as this book definitely did. I hope that one day she will write a part two of this story and continue on!
Thanks, again, Sarah for the contest. Thank you, Amy (and family), for letting us peek in and share in some of your life lessons.
Kristi
To read more reviews, please see
Sarah at www.inthemidstofit.blogspot.com
Kristy at www.fourgreatboys.blogspot.com
Tara at www.serendipitoushousewife.blogspot.com
Growing up, I really think that my parents took me to almost every Amy Grant concert that came to my town. They saw in my sisters & I a real love for music and they wanted to develop that in a Godly way. So, they were the parents to always drive the kids in the youth group to see Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, etc. I know now that it was not necessarily their favorite music, but they wanted us to have good influences and a healthy alternative to what the world offered.
My first time hearing Amy Grant, in fact, was when she was probably sixteen and I think traveling with the Gaithers. I was in awe then as a young girl. Growing up, my friends always called me by her name since I loved to sing, had brown eyes, and long, naturally curly, brown hair. My head probably grew at least five inches everytime someone said that! Looking back, though, I realize that my faith and early belief systems grew and developed as a result of her music. Those lyrics were so basic, yet so profound in the faith.
I loved Amy Grant's book, "Mosaic." Really, I tried not to be biased and I do not think I was. The book offered bits and pieces of insight into Amy's life, her career, her loves, some of her trials, etc. I will say that it did not "hand-feed" the reader all of the information, and certainly left me wondering on my own about some of the details. It also left me wanting more, which I think is a very good thing with a book!
Each chapter can stand on its own, which is nice for busy moms who only have time to pick up a book whenever there is a free moment. Many of the chapters made me think and want to re-assess some areas in my own life. I like that in a book! I love how she included lyrics to many of her songs and the corresponding stories that prodded her to write those lyrics.
I do wish that maybe her timeline would have come at the beginning of the book. I know that would probably seem odd to start it that way, but I think it would have helped fill in some of the gaps first.
What was surprising to me, although I am not sure why, was the loss she has gone through. She wrote about it in such a way that I could really feel and understand her raw emotion. I think that it took courage for her to share some of her life's details and I appreciated that.
I always suspected that she was very "real" and down-to-earth. Although I have never met her in person, she never seemed to be showy or outlandish on stage or in interviews. Her book seemed to further solidfy my views of her.
One chapter in particular really stood out to me. The chapter entitled, "Dorothy Lee" was especially moving in its discussion of grief. The statements were made, "You know, you cannot rush grief...we prod and push the bereaved to move on, to go through the motions of living. Grief has its own timetable. What a concept. The time it takes to heal is the time it takes."
My husband and I recently have gone through another miscarriage (our third through the years). We are so grateful to have the children that God has given us. We do not take them for granted. I know that miscarriages are common; they happen everyday, everywhere. But it still hurts. Just when I think I am over it, sadness comes for a visit again. I know I will heal. God has healed my hurts through the years and given me strength. But, it is nice to know that when everyday is not "sunshine and roses" and I am not on everyone else's timetable for healing, it is okay! So, thanks, Amy for the candid discussions on grief and loss.
As I am going back through this book review, I realize that maybe I have talked too much about myself. But, is that not something good in a book if it can make you personalize it and help you walk in another's shoes? And, leave you "wanting more," as this book definitely did. I hope that one day she will write a part two of this story and continue on!
Thanks, again, Sarah for the contest. Thank you, Amy (and family), for letting us peek in and share in some of your life lessons.
Kristi
To read more reviews, please see
Sarah at www.inthemidstofit.blogspot.com
Kristy at www.fourgreatboys.blogspot.com
Tara at www.serendipitoushousewife.blogspot.com
Comments
I'm one of the other reviewers and just posted mine. I also liked the chapter titled, "Dorothy Lee" and what she said about the color black. Glad you enjoyed the book and now have a copy to refer back to when you need some encouragement.
Tara
I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I'm thankful that your name was picked by the random number generator--it sounds like the book ministered to you--maybe the RNG wasn't so random after all? :)
Hope all is going well!