Title: A Book of Remembrance
Author: Brenda Letherman
Publisher: Page Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-68409-433-2
Pages: 189
Genre: Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: Christa Hill
Pacific Book Review
This short book uses biblically texts to tell the story of Brenda’s life. She looks at her life from the first-person perspective informing us of the many twists and turns that have led to the life she has now. Her faith has led her to remain faithful believing that the Lord cares for her even during the hardest trials of her life. She takes us through her story from the very beginning, her birth, all the way to a hellish night spent in jail. She starts from her childhood spent on her family farm and then brings us to the present with the struggles in her marriage.
Each chapter of the book looks at certain thoughts or ideas of Brenda’s – anything from sin to love. The author has a great sense of humor about love and romance. She spends half a page explaining her cat control problem in relation to God’s divine providence. She uses many moments of her life to expound upon the character of God in her life. Some of her reasoning seems a little flawed as she opens up about her faith and the human need for God. During some of the chapters we learn about the character of her family and friends. While meeting new people in a story is often exciting, I found it difficult to connect with the important persons in Brenda’s musings.
This book starts with a simply story of a woman’s life, however, as it progresses it becomes rather preachy offering suggested readings and explaining love and mercy. It appears the story that she started with never comes to a satisfactory conclusion and is instead abandoned for a small sermon. With that said she does pull very interesting quotes from many of her readings. For example, she defines romance as “a disposition to delight in the mysterious or adventurous” which pulls into perspective a new way of thinking about something so common. The story takes you on a biblical journey through a woman’s struggles and delights, if you enjoy the psychology of faith and reason it will certainly appeal to you. It would also be a good read for anyone who is interested in learning more about scripture and strengthening one’s faith.
