My Review of "Stand Strong"

Nick Vujicic's Stand Strong:  You Can Overcome Bullying (and Other Stuff That Keeps You Down) offers advice and wisdom about the bullying epidemic affecting 1 in 6 American children.  He's more familiar than most with the nightmares, stomach aches and sense of hopelessness bullies cause when a child is "different".  Since Nick is the post-child for difference, there's no better spokesperson to write a book like Stand Strong.

Born without arms and legs "for reasons never determined", Nick hop-walks with one small fin-like flipper. However, when he was a child confined to a wheelchair, he felt intimidated, insecure and depressed because he was a "bully magnet and a "bully's dream".

Born into a supporting, Christian family, Vijicic never fell for self-pity.  Instead, even at a young age, he learned responsibility.  In spite of disabilities his parents gave him assigned chores and encouraged him "to do it for himself" if possible. "They didn't cut me any slack because I lacked limbs", he writes.  Instead he was taught to clean his room, brush his teeth, dress himself and even vacuum his room.

However, once he left the shelter of his loving and supportive family for the "hallways and playgrounds of elementary school", he felt he had "a target on his chest that said, 'Bullies, aim here'".  Even though he tried to fit in the hurtful taunts, jokes and ridicule made him question God and why He created him with "so many imperfections".  By age ten, Nick saw no future for himself and attempted suicide in a bathtub full of water.  He flipped over, face down in the water, until visions of the pain he would cause his family rolled him over, spitting and sputtering.  "That's when he knew suicide wasn't an option", he writes.

Today, Nick is married to a beautiful woman and father to a strong and healthy son and he's no longer a "bully's dream".  Instead he's learned "to handle bullies by controlling how he responds to them", one he adopted as his "personal mission" in life.

So Nick kicked off his anti-bullying campaign in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2013, with a message of hope about attitude, "if you don't get a miracle, you can still be a miracle".  That sense of hope is contained in the pages of Stand Strong that teaches how to build a "bully defense system" from the inside out.

That's what makes Stand Strong essential reading.  If you feel like a bully's target, lonely, defenseless and without hope, learn from one who's been there.  Who developed "anti-bully antibodies" with an encouraging, doable, "bully defense system" he teaches to others and writes about in this book.  Because, "No bully can define who you are" if you do that for yourself.

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here. 

My Review of "Broken Gods"

Gregory Popcak's Broken Gods:  Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart attempts to recover a classic theological anthropology that's epitomized in the maxim from St Athanasius:  "The Son of God became human so that we might become God".  From St Athanasius and St Irenaeus, through to St Thomas Aquinas, and even Protestant leaders and writers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and C.S. Lewis, this theological anthropology affirms that we humans are meant to live now and eternally in communion with the Holy Trinity -- "to become gods".

Of course that theological anthropology -- and the theology of salvation which flows out of it -- seems foreign to our twenty-first century ears.  Talk about "deification" or "divinization" seems so out of place after the influence of contemporary "secular" anthropologies.

So Popcak's goal -- as a theologian and a trained psychologist -- is that deification can be seen through the lens of both psychological health and integrated faith, and that deification can name so much of what it means for Christians to think about "being human".

Popcak explores what deification is, how and why we fall short of it, and how the virtues associated with that deification can heal us.

And it's that emphasis on virtues that has me most excited about Broken Gods.  For each of the seven deadly sins, Popcak proposes a "divine longing" that the vice tries but can't satisfy; for instance, pride is a misguided attempt to satisfy the divine longing for abundance, and humility is the way to approach it.  The diving longing for justice is fulfilled through patience, not wrath.  The divine longing for trust is fulfilled through generosity, not greed.  And so forth.  Of course, this isn't a new approach.  Historically, this is the spiritual theology articulated by Aquinas.

So Popcak really seeks to bring Aquinas into conversation with our world.  That's why each chapter closes with an exercise -- offering questions that bring this theological anthropology into conversation with neuroscience.

Broken Gods is such a distinctive read with an impressive and important message.  I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to think and practice the depth of the Christian spiritual tradition.

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here. 

My Review of "The Little Paris Bookshop"

Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel tells us of Jean Perdu, who runs a bookshop out of a converted barge on the Seine River in Paris.  He calls it La Pharmacie Litéraire -- the literary apothecary -- because he has an unusual gift for being able to see into his customers' souls about what they most need.  According to Jean Perdu, there is a book for every ailment of the soul. "The bookseller could not imagine what might be more practical than a book" (page 1).

"Perdu reflected that it was a common misconception that booksellers looked after books.  ... They look after people" (page 19).  However, for the past twenty-one years there's only one person that Jean Perdu has been unable to successfully prescribe a book for -- himself.  That's because twenty-one years ago, the woman that he loved abruptly left him; no goodbyes, no forewarning, just a letter that Jean Perdu has not been able to bring himself to open.  And it's the sudden arrival of a mysterious new neighbor in his apartment building may be just the thing Jean Perdu has been waiting for.  And so, one not so special day, Jean Perdu unmoors his literary apothecary and sets off for Provence in search of answers, closure and the ability to heal his own soul.

This is a beautifully told story that blends together books and travel, in a way that highlights how our own selves are made up of the things we read and the places we go.

Readers will find here some vivid depictions of the French countryside, a wonderfully eclectic parade of characters, and anything but a cheesy story.

While I was reading, I tried to keep track of the fabulous quotes, but it just became too much.  You simply have to read it for yourself.  This is a book for anyone who loves beautiful books and beautiful places.

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here. 

My Review of "Rooted in Design"

Tara Heibel & Tassy de Give's Rooted in Design:  Sprout Home's Guide to Creative Indoor Planting is a real treat to those who want to bring life to interior design.  They explain that the key to successful indoor gardens is marrying the right plants to the right location and conditions -- all in a container that complements the style of the home. 

A chandelier "collection of smaller plants ... hung together to make an overhead garden" or a self-watering container made of a two-liter soda bottle placed inside another container are two ideas that enable plant enthusiasts to create an indoor green environment with conscious flair.  Even the authors' nod to macrame elevates the "utilitarian, yet stylish craft" to new levels when it's paired with the glossy, frilly shoots of a Hindu rope plant. 

While the authors concentrate more on design than the practicalities of indoor gardening, they do address many common issues, such as watering and lighting.  The last few pages are a plant directory that answers questions of what plants work best in low light and with varying levels of water and soil.  That selection alone makes this book a must-have for those thinking about home decorating in early spring and summer.

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

My Review of "Cookie Love"

There are so many cookbooks out there.  So why another cookbook?

Mindy Segal's Cookie Love is a book written by a professional for everyday cooks.  Segal is Chicago's most iconic pastry chef, and Cookie Love is her first book.  It's a perfectly lovely book -- with all sorts of mouth-watering pictures -- but it's also a useful book for every kitchen, in bringing what is perhaps the greatest dessert food to every table:  Cookies.

The book is divided into chapters based on different cookie types (bar cookies, shortbread, etc) -- kind of a choose your own cookie-plate adventure.  The range and variety of cookies is truly impressive, and it's what stood out when I first flipped through the book.  The recipes are universally appealing -- they are cookies after all.  These are the kind of recipes that get me hyped up to get in the kitchen and bake.  And while it would be so easy to pick a few recipes and run off cooking, I don't actually know where to begin ... or where to stop.

That's because the recipes are the greatest part of the book.  They give you insight into how to prepare from the first steps until the final product.

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

My Review of "Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Teen"

Disruptive misbehavior, constant power struggles, manipulative or aggressive behavior -- the challenges facing parents and teachers of strong-willed teens can seem overwhelming at times.  So Robert McKenzie has given us another treasure -- continuing in the tradition of his Setting Limits for Your Strong-Willed Child -- in the new Setting Limits with Your Strong Willed Teen.  This book offers the best advice for adults who care for teens, maneuvering between the twin tragedies of permissiveness and punishment.  Moving beyond the traditional methods to practices that focus the caring energies in meaningful and productive ways.

Mackenzie gives readers plenty of actual scenarios, of typical infractions, and how to handle them.  Which makes Setting Limits with Your Strong Willed Teen absolutely essential reading.

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

My Review of "Bringing Heaven to Earth"

Having grown up in the church, I heard, sang and even prayed a lot about "going to heaven."  The idea was that I wasn't a citizen of the world, but was a pilgrim destined for more because of my faith in Jesus.  We talked about heaven, we prayed about heaven, and we sang about heaven.  So when I finally decided that I wasn't sure I wanted to remain a Christian because of all that "other-world" language, the idea of heaven and hell became the primary reason I would cite why I wasn't sure I wanted to remain a Christian.

After having read Josh Ross' and Jonathan Storment's Bringing Heaven to Earth:  You Don't Have to Wait for Eternity to Life the Good News, I know I'm not alone.

Bringing Heaven to Earth is a masterful book that explores what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ in the world God created, and how Jesus restores a vision of heaven and earth reunited.

Make no doubt about it, though, it's a challenging book, because it addresses so many myths we Christians typically believe, only because we've been taught them in our culture.  When we turn to Scripture, we find those myths obliterated by the truth of Jesus himself.

So this is a book I simply can't recommend too often. 

I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

Jonathan Storment