Everything That Came Before Grace by Bill See

BOOK INFORMATION

Genre: Family Life Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction

• Paperback: 263 pages
• ISBN-13: 979-8697945605
• Publisher: Independently published (November 6, 2020)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B08MSMP6DW

Synopsis: A single-father comes of age as he discovers whether it’s love or fatherhood that could save him. Haunted by his mother’s death and a series of serendipitous events from his past, Benjamin Bradford desperately tries to keep his mental illness under control while raising his daughter Sophia. Set against the iconic streets of Los Angeles, there’s music always playing, heavy therapy sessions and private emails to discern, shattered friendships and betrayal, and the specter of a true love that got away. Think: Silver Linings Playbook meets High Fidelity with a dash of Eighth Grade. Can Benjamin find redemption? Can he escape his demons and find love again? Come along for the ride and find out.

Review:

This is one of the most moving books I've read this year. Single dad Benjamin is trying to raise his daughter Sophia while keeping her in the dark about his mental illness, as well as the mental illness of his mother (and its impact on his childhood). Add in losing his "one true love" in college, and subsequently seeing her married to his best friend, and life gets pretty complicated pretty fast. The main theme of the father-daughter relationship is very well-written, and its ups and downs are incredibly realistic. The fears Benjamin has about his parenting may seem a little over the top at times and make him more than a little overprotective, but it all tends to make him someone you just want to hug (and at times, shout at to get over himself). I was also glad to see that the author did not give us a predictable ending, but that it was still full of hope and promise. There are a lot of song references throughout the book, which was fun. The author has put together a Spotify playlist of all of them, which makes for a great soundtrack while reading.  Rating: Five years About the author Bill See was the founding member of critically acclaimed Los Angeles indie rock band Divine Weeks and has been a mainstay in the L.A. music and writing community since the mid-80s. His debut docu-novel "33 Days: Touring in a Van, Sleeping on Floors, Chasing a Dream" was released in 2011. His new novel, "Everything That Came Before Grace" is set to be released in December 2020. Check out the Everything That Came Before Grace Official Website at: https://www.everythingthatcamebeforegrace.com Check out the Everything That Came Before Grace Podcast: https://anchor.fm/etcbg See Divine Weeks on All Music Guide for an overview of the band's career: http://www.allmusic.com/album/never-get-used-to-it-r5916/review 33 Days Official Website: http://www.33daysthebook.com Divine Weeks' official website is http://www.divineweeks.com/

100 Words Of Affirmation Your Husband Needs To Hear by Lisa Jacobson

BOOK INFORMATION

Genre: Christian Marriage

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Revell (October 1, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800736605
• ISBN-13: 978-0800736606

Synopsis: Every one of us has tremendous power to either build others up or tear them down through the words we speak every day, and nowhere is this more evident than in our marriages. Are you being purposeful in how you use the power of your words to speak encouragement, strength, and love--breathing life into the heart of your spouse? Or are careless words having a negative impact on your marriage and on the heart of the one you love most?

Matt and Lisa Jacobson want you and your spouse to discover the powerful ways you can build one another up in love with the words that you choose to say every day--words that every husband and wife need to hear. These books offer you 100 Things to say to your husband or wife that deeply encourage, affirm, and inspire. Start speaking these words into each other's lives and watch your spouse--and your relationship--transform before your eyes.

Review: One of the things I like about this book is that the affirmations are written in a way that sounds like the average wife could say them, or close enough that they could just be altered slightly. They aren't long, flowery speeches that might put some women off, they are short, simple truths. I also liked that while some of them are things I already say to my husband, some of them made me realize places where I was missing opportunities to encourage him.

This book would make an excellent gift for any wife, whether a newlywed or celebrating fifty years of marriage.


Rating: Five stars



About the author

Lisa Jacobson is an author, a speaker, and the founder and host of Club31Women.com, a powerful online community of Christian women authors who write weekly on the topics of husband, home, family, and biblical truths--a strong voice for biblical womanhood. Her combined social media platforms have a reach well over 1 million viewers/visitors per month. She is the author of the best-selling 100 Ways to Love Your Husband, as well as 100 Words of Affirmation Your Husband Needs to Hear. She and her husband, Matt, are the co-hosts of the popular FAITHFUL LIFE podcast. Together they live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where they have raised their eight children.

100 Words Of Affirmation Your Wife Needs To Hear by Matt Jacobson

   

BOOK INFORMATION

Genre: Christian marriage

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Revell (October 1, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800736648
• ISBN-13: 978-0800736644

Synopsis: Every one of us has tremendous power to either build others up or tear them down through the words we speak every day, and nowhere is this more evident than in our marriages. Are you being purposeful in how you use the power of your words to speak encouragement, strength, and love--breathing life into the heart of your spouse? Or are careless words having a negative impact on your marriage and on the heart of the one you love most?

Matt and Lisa Jacobson want you and your spouse to discover the powerful ways you can build one another up in love with the words that you choose to say every day--words that every husband and wife need to hear. These books offer you 100 Things to say to your husband or wife that deeply encourage, affirm, and inspire. Start speaking these words into each other's lives and watch your spouse--and your relationship--transform before your eyes.

Review: I had my husband read this book before I did, and he read through the entire book in one sitting. While a lot of the affirmations mentioned in the book are things that he already tells me, he did find some that made him say "I never thought of that!" 
One of the things I like about this book is that the affirmations are written in a way that sounds like the average husband could say them, or close enough that they could just be altered slightly. They aren't long, flowery speeches that might put some men off, they are short, simple truths.
This book would make an excellent gift for any husband, whether a newlywed or celebrating fifty years of marriage.

Rating: Five stars

About the author

Matt Jacobson was an executive in the publishing industry for 25 years and for the past 16 years, has been a teaching elder/pastor of Tumalo Bible Fellowship. Matt is also the founder and teacher at FaithfulMan.com, an online social media community focusing on the topics of marriage, parenting, and biblical teaching, with a cross-platform reach of 2,200,000 viewers/visitors per month. He is the author of the bestselling 100 Ways to Love Your Wife.

He lives with his wife, Lisa, in the Pacific Northwest where they have raised their eight children.