Customer Reviews

Gullible's Travels: Stories from the Journey of a Lifetime

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Admitting taht he "grabs for everything with Goad's name on it," Joe R. Barnett says, "Somewhere in the pages of this book, you'll find yourself. And somewhere you'll see the Savior, gently beckoning you to come closer." Seldom is extreme praise justly heaped upon a relatively new short story writer, yet "Gullible's Travels" by Steven Clark Goad is a surprising delight.

With irresistible charm and irrepressible humor, this Hoosier lad turned preacher transports you with him on an unforgettable pilgrimage. From Bean Creek's old swimming hole to Jimmy's candy wagon, from the Margaret McFarland school yard to the church house basement, from encounters with sister Jackie on the home front to Lady Barbara, a steely-eyed sister at church, we find ourselves woven into the fabric of a fascinating lifetime in an amazing and unmistakable transformation; the author's memories become our own. This is virtual reality without cyber technology.

In a favorite story of mine, the author challenges Thomas Wolfe's premise that one can't go home again. He does it with such gumption and clarity that it never occurs to the reader to question his conclusion. Listen! "Thomas, you can go home again. I've done it a hundred time and more.....in my mind. Memories. Memories of kith and kin, of puppy loves and heartbreaks, of long departed adored ones, of moments not constrained by the passing of time and the revolving of planets. Yes! I can go home again. I have and I will."

Well worth the purchase price and more. Some liken Goad's writing to Mark Twain. Others have suggested a Lincolnesque quality. Dr. Leroy Garrett, historian and author, has even gone so far as to compare S.C. Goad to C. S. Lewis. A streatch? We think not.

You'll find yourself doing some unusual things: reading the stories to family and friends, laughing out loud, thinking more deeply about the preciousness of life, plus expanding your heart. But most importantly, you'll find this master storyteller's homespun (and often riotous)recollections weave a remarkably delightful pattern - on that points our way to heaven. It's no wonder author Charles B. Hodge can assert with such confidence: "Steven Clark Goad truly does play a 'tap dance' upon our hearts."

Opening a story book by Steven Clark Goad is like embarking on a rollicking ride. Hold on tight and get ready to be transported backwards in time, jackknifed on freeway overpasses of the mind, airlifted to astounding heights of truth and hilarity, then plunged, reeling, into the lowest depths imaginable, only to be elevated once again into the stratosphere of thought.

Brace yourself, to think and to feel, to live and to re-live, to be born and to be born again and then to meet God face to face. Rich and riotous. Fun and fantastic. Serious and silly. All of these and more describe the infectious style of this parson who has become a master storyteller. "Gullible's Travels" will take you on a journey of delight that you will not soon forget. Jere Allan

(From the publisher's website:) Hamburger technicians who speak every language but English - and are deaf to boot!

Mechanics that know exactly what is wrong with your car, but can't figure out how to fix it. Brothers and sisters in Christ who have never heard of a word called, "encouragement" - preferring the testing-by-fire method, instead!

Gullible's Travels is one of those rare books that entertains, while teaching, comforts while confronting, challenges while changing. You won't be disappointed, as you laugh your way to a better understanding of the Kingdom.

A simple book based on the chapter of ones life. Dealing with family, the family of Christ, and ourselves are all seen in this book. With absurd stories with happy endings, funny as well as heart-warming, this book takes us into our own lives and opens it up for us. A great read, as always, to delve into other lives and compare them to our own. Steven Goad delivers a heart warming story similar to the ones in Grace Centered Magazine.

There may be a better storyteller than Goad running around loose, but he'd have to be awfully good. If you're like me (and a jillion others), you love good stories really well told. In "Gullible's Travels" you'll find plenty of that. Goad's style is unaffected; there's no attempt to be elegant and it has that appealing 'gossipy' texture, on the order of Samuel Clemens, another purveyor of stories not unlike these.

Steven's humor doesn't keep him from probing diseased places with a sharp knife or making a reader feel wistful. So, expect some real candor along with the warmth, openness and wisdom that Steven Clark Goad delivers so beautifully. One other thing--better bring along tissues for some tears and perhaps a glass of water to east the pain you'll have from laughing 'til your sides hurt. Jim McGuiggan, Author Belfast, Northern Ireland