My sister and I always say for growing up in a Christian "fish bowl", we have both turned out pretty good! We grew up in a strict fundamentalist Baptist church and attended a Christian school. Our parents were not in the ministry, per se, but it still feels like we grew up with everyone in our community watching every move we made. My sister went to a small private college, and I chose to go to Indiana University after graduation. Talk about eye-opening! I have pretty much come full circle, still attend church, and now my husband works in our church office.
In Splitting Harriet, the main character happens to be a preacher's kids (PK) turned bad, turned good again. She is constantly getting stuck in her past prodigal ways and finds it hard to accept grace and forgiveness. She is the women's ministry leader for the church she grew up in, which at times makes it even harder for her because her fellow church goers know all about her past.
My favorite piece of advice from this book is "The old Harri doesn't exist anymore, so do us all a favor and come to terms with who you are now--a FORGIVEN woman. Then, and only then, decide what to do. If you don't you'll end up bitter. And nobody wants that, especially God." (pg. 344-345)
For anyone with a spotted past {which pretty much included everyone on this planet}, this book is a great reminder of the forgiveness we are given. I love how Harri embraces the forgiveness given to her, starts believing in herself, having fun, and taking chances. Some things we should all do a little bit more of.
*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my review. The opinions are mine.*
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