Author: SusannahDB

A Long Way Gone Ishmael Beah

Emotional Response-3

Scholarly Response-1

Years ago, a colleague of mine encouraged me to read this book. I am glad I finally did. This is Ishmael Beah’s story of how the war in his home country of Sierra Leone affected him. He reminisces about his childhood before the war. He tells us how unexpectedly his life was changed forever when his village was destroyed by the rebels. He spends years on his own and with a group of other young boys struggling to survive. And then he becomes a child soldier. If your heart wasn’t already broken, this part of his story will break it. My favorite part (although still not easy to listen to) is the story of his rehabilitation after his years of fighting.

This story is difficult and awful and maybe this is why it took me so long to pick up this book. I listened to the book on CD which is read by the author. Hearing his stories in his own voice was very emotional for me. There were times when I wanted to swoop in and save him. And yet, I kept listening allowing him to tell me his story. It is not easy to listen to his stories of killing people and doing drugs and think about how young he was. It is horrific to hear how he and others resisted rehabilitation. It is hard to hear how much the boys hurt and abused those who were trying to help them as they began the rehabilitation process. The good news is that those working to help stuck with it and loved the boys even when the boys seemed unloveable and when they thought they were unworthy of love.

This book is not like the other books I have recommended so far. It received a low scholarly score because that isn’t the aim of the book. It received an average emotional score because I wanted to stop listening because I hoped if I stopped listening his awful story would never have happened. I kept listening because he and others like him need to tell their stories. And we need to listen.

I’m glad I read this book. I recommend it for anyone who wants to know what life is like for too many children in our world whose childhood’s are stolen from them due to situations outside their control. I recommend this book for anyone who remembers hearing about the war in Sierra Leone and wants to hear firsthand what it was like there. I recommend it for anyone who loves children and is willing to listen to horrible stories of violence and abuse and tragedy so that we might protect all of God’s children and do our best to make sure this stops happening.

This I Believe 2 (audiobook)

Emotional Response-5

Scholarly Response-3

Listening to 75 people read their own 500 word essays about what they believe was inspiring and wonderful. The essays included beliefs in everything from semi-permanent hair dye to faithfulness to tolerance to baking. While I didn’t agree with each person’s essay, I still found their words intriguing. These essays made me wonder what I would write. Although I haven’t taken the time to sit and write my own essay, I have been thinking about what I’d write and I am inspired to lead others in this practice. You can hear essays and learn about how to write your own essay here.

This website also includes information about how to do this practice in your congregation. I’m looking forward to leading others through this process in my next congregation, and as soon as I finish my essay, I’ll be glad to share it with you too.

I highly recommend the This I Believe essays to everyone. Prepare to be challenged and inspired. Prepare to laugh and cry. Prepare to ponder what you believe as you agree and disagree with the essays you hear. These essays remind us of how much we have in common, how much we need to hear each other’s stories, and how much we need to tell our own stories.

Emotional Response-5

Scholarly Response-4

Kate Braestrup is the chaplain for the Maine Warden Service. I first heard her story while reading her first book, Here If You Need Me. Her first book is a story of love and loss and grief after the death of her husband. I loved that book and highly recommend it! This book is her look at love and marriage. She blends humor, Scripture, and real stories of real people into a book you can’t put down (or in my case a CD I couldn’t stop listening to!).

I have discovered that reviewing a book I heard on CDs is a different task than a book I can hold in my hand and refer back to when looking for quotes and main ideas. This book worked well on CD. The author read it, and as a pastor, she has a great speaking voice, and it sounded authentic.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys memoirs, anyone who loves others even when it isn’t easy, anyone who is married, has been married, or is considering getting married. This book gives us an honest look at love from the Christian perspective with all its imperfections, struggles, and joys.

When describing her job, Kate said, “I bear witness to the ways love resurrects itself in the face of loss.” (This statement was so meaningful that I stopped the CD, so I could memorize it. I think this is the task of any pastor and any Christian.)

When asked to lead a discussion on sex and sexuality for her daughter’s class, she had the class of 8th graders answer this question-Nothing matters more than ________? Her answer was love. The students had a variety of answers. The author believes that however you finish that statement shows what you treasure the most.

When discussing marriage with a soon to be wed couple, she said, “You aren’t promising to feel love but to do love.”

“Being parted by death is your best case scenario” when describing marriages and whether the couple should say “’til death do us part.”