Life in Spite of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson with Tricia Goyer (ISBN 9781601423825)

When I chose to review Life in Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson (with Tricia Goyer), I really wasn't sure what to expect.  I had read the description provided by WaterBrook Multnomah on its Blogging for Books site and the reviews found with the 17-page excerpt available on WaterBrook's site.

What could a young woman possibly write that would make this story, Kristen's story, palatable to a reading public?  She made a choice one dark night to end her life, and she lived to tell about it.

But how do you tell a story like hers?  With humility and grace and hope.  This is what Kristen Anderson has done.  She has told a very difficult story with humility, grace and hope.

Intermingled with the difficulties of mental and physical healing, multiple surgeries and feeling she wasn't understood by family or doctors, Kristen writes from her heart with honesty.

Throughout the book are encouraging notes to those who might be considering a similar choice to hers.  Kristen's notes are heart-felt and bring the hope of a risen Savior to those living in darkness and confusion.  You can almost hear talking with someone.

Not only has Kristen told a difficult and painful story, she has risen above it to go on with her life in a very positive way.  Kristen has become an example of the hope that we have in God.  Hers is a "hope-building" story with a prominent message that "even when we give up on life, God doesn't give up on us."

I will admit that as I first began to read this book, I wasn't overly impressed.  "Listening" to the words on the page initially sounded as if it was expected that I was an adolescent or a teenager.  However, the farther into the book I traveled the more I understood that Kristen was telling her story from the perspective of the young, confused girl who determined there was nothing left for her.  Little did she know, there was so much more waiting for her!  God had plans for her.

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I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. 
 
Read an excerpt from the book.

Read about Kristen Anderson and Tricia Goyer.
 

Visit Kristen Anderson's site.

Podcast -- Kristen Jane Anderson, Life in Spite of Me: