Craving Grace, by Lisa Velthouse. Hardcover.
Lisa Velthouse grew up trying to be the "perfect
Christian girl" -- no drinking, no cursing, and always paying attention to
her parents. She even wrote a book about her choice to not kiss until her
engagement, 2003's Saving My First Kiss, which allowed her to begin a
career of speaking at conferences and writing on church staffs. Everything
about her life revolved around earning God's approval. And she was convinced
that she had done that.
And then a few years later, at a sister's wedding, she broke
the no-kissing vow. Convinced that she had lost God's favor, she spent years
studying, seeking after, (and receiving) undeserved grace, both from God and
from people. Craving Grace is her recounting of that search.
There are many Christian living books where the author will
use occasional examples from their life to amplify their theological point. But
I prefer books like this, where the author uses the memoir form to tell a very
personal story, while also focusing on a particular aspect of faith or theology.
Readers of Lauren Winner's books will recognize this format. Velthouse uses the
recurring motifs of sheep and honey to tell her story, and her ability to
return to these themes, and to continually elaborate upon them, demonstrates
her skill as a writer.
The transparency and vulnerability that Velthouse shows in
telling this personal story is impressive. She is able to bring the reader
inside her head, and inside her heart, as she talks about her struggles to
understand the nature of living in a Grace that is wholly underserved. One
subplot in the story is her attempt to fast from sweets for a period of time.
It was just good fortune that I read this book over Lent, but that added nicely
to my own experience of the book.
The memoir portions of the book are not told
chronologically, and this "jumping around" in time (the events of the
book cover a three-year period) may be disconcerting to a reader who is used to
reading a book like this in order. But that is a minor quibble; the book is
excellent.
Alan, thanks so much for your kind review. I appreciate it. Will be tweeting out a link tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteLisa Velthouse
So great to hear from an author, Lisa! Thanks for the reply, and the tweet!
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