Running For My Life by Lopez Lomong

This book is a true story about a young boy and his horrific experiences of being ripped from his family in South Sudan to be used as a child soldier during the civil war in his home country.  He tells of the trials, challenges and seemingly impossible barriers that he had to overcome just to survive.  Lopez's story is inspiring and eye opening as he shares his journey from deplorable circumstances to the amazing opportunity to come to America and realize his dream of becoming an Olympian in track and field.

The story of Lopez's life was beyond comprehension!  The book was so fascinating that I was unable to put it down and finished it the same day I started it.  His honesty, faith and willingness to share openly about his journey was compelling and inspiring.  Anyone with an interest in sports or biographies will be drawn completely into his story.  The desires Lopez has to give back to his home country is remarkable and no doubt he will achieve what he sets out to do.  I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and already have told many about it.

I am a member of booksneeze.com by Thomas Nelson Publishers. In exchange for writing a review, I received this book for free.

God Loves Broken People (and those who pretend they're not) by Sheila Walsh

This book addresses the issues of pain and suffering and helps people to cope with the challenges that come along with these difficult situations.  Using real life stories that are personal to her and those she knows, she tackles some of the hard questions people ask when things seem to go wrong.  She provides perspective, hope and encouragement to those encountering trouble.  There is something for everyone to gain from this book.

I found the first half of the book to be a tough slog.  She kept raising all these difficult questions, but didn't give any answers or solutions or really even much hope to the reader.  I ended up putting it down for a few months, then tried picking it back up again.  The second half of the book was much more encouraging and gave a really good perspective on dealing with challenging circumstances and ways to find healing while strengthening our faith at the same time.  If you can get through the start, the end is worth it. 

I am a member of booksneeze.com by Thomas Nelson Publishers. In exchange for writing a review, I received this book for free.

This Thing of Ours by Cammy Franzese

This is a book that is very easy to read that talks about the life and marriage of Michael and Cammy Franzese. Michael is an anomaly in the sense that he was able to walk away from his life as a former Mob boss and live to tell about it. The book is about Cammy's experiences of being married to Michael and the stresses and challenges of being married to someone who spent a lot of time in prison and has faced death threats multiple times. Cammy does a great job of weaving her faith and perspective throughout the book.

The story was a quick read, and Cammy does a very good job of giving a woman's perspective on dealing with a challenging marriage. She interjects her beliefs and faith in Christ throughout the story very effectively. I have previously read books that Michael Franzese had written about his former life, which gave me a lot of valuable background knowledge. I think this book would lose some of it's impact if that information is missing for readers, but it was still a great book to encourage women who are in difficult relationships that there is nothing that is beyond the reaching of God's redemptive power.

I am a member of booksneeze.com by Thomas Nelson Publishers. In exchange for writing a review, I received this book for free.