Saturday, July 9, 2016

They Danced On *Book Review*


Have you ever read a book and felt like you wanted to meet the characters?  That is exactly how I felt after finishing this book.  I wanted to hand out with the Darling family at one of their weekly family dinners.  I felt like I would be welcomed with open arms and would fit right in.  This book includes family problems, illness, and lots of forgiveness.   This book does not have a fairy tale ending, but what real life family does?  One of my favorite parts was when the mom was talking about grief...."Maybe that was the worst of it: unpredictability.  There was no way of knowing when it would strike, or when it would release you to happiness.  It was a cruel and arbitrary thing.  No, there was nothing linear about grief at all."



Here are some questions and answers from the author that I really enjoyed!

What do you hope readers will take away from the story?
I hope they’ll come away with a deeper understanding of addiction and what it does to a person, and what hope there is. In the months to come, I’ll be writing some articles and guest blog posts about this issue. I would also love to help people move away from a facile and formulaic understanding of what God is like: that he’s an easily-analyzed being who hates unrighteousness and dispenses favor to the faithful. Not only is that understanding an
incomplete one, but it’s also unsatisfying. Knowing God on a deeper level means things get complicated, less black-and-white. But they’re infinitely more satisfying.

Does your job as a nurse influence your writing? If so, how?
I suppose it does in this way: I see such a panorama of human suffering and triumph. Not just physically, but all day long, I brush up against dysfunctional families, failing marriages, people bewildered by life; struggling to live life on life’s terms the best they can manage. But I also see wonderful things: marriages that have thrived for decades; sweet, sacrificial love; bravery and kindness and wisdom in my patients. Not a day goes by that I don’t learn something new from someone I take care of. It’s all grist for the mill, fodder for stories. There is a character or two in each of my books based on patients I’ve had. 



I received a copy of this book from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for my review.  Opinions are mine.

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