He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Hope, and Happily Ever After (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: spiritual monogamy, Forty Days of Faith, Allegiance Encounters, Wine Country (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ryan's winsome memoir and writing debut traces her desperate search for a man—specifically a husband—and for a spirituality that works for her. En route, her heart is broken in every possible way: her college fiancé cheats on her; her first husband abuses her; and she dates a succession of alternately nice and creepy noncommittal guys. She attempts to talk herself out of her desire for marriage, hoping that crystals, feng shui and astrology will provide the guidance she needs to sort out the mess of her life. When she ends up unemployed and broke in Boston, she channel surfs across a Joyce Meyer program one afternoon and is shocked to hear that the Bible promises good things. She visits an evangelical church, joins a small group and ever so tentatively explores the idea of Jesus, eventually giving him her broken life and asking him to fix it. God promises her a husband and delivers (with a tinge of prosperity gospel that will appeal to Meyer fans), but not without cost. In spite of her desperation and a string of horrible choices, Ryan is eminently likable and vulnerable, and her sharp writing will appeal to faithful and irreverent readers alike. (Apr. 30)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

'Trish Ryan is a woman on a search. She's honest, vulnerable, funny and frank and simply will not settle for a life without greater meaning or a man without a generous heart. Her story will connect with all those who quest for true love and a greater purpose or pattern for the way they live their lives.' -- Margaret Sartor, New York Times bestselling author of Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing Up in the 1970s '...winsome memoir and writing debut ...Ryan is eminently likable and vulnerable, and her sharp writing will appeal to faithful and irreverent readers alike.' -- Publisher's Weekly 'This is one riveting story...I can identify with what it feels like to look in all the wrong places -and then realize down the road that God has been writing a story that is so much bigger and better than I could have ever imagined. It's not often that someone can make me read into the wee hours - and then laugh so hard that I wake my poor husband up from a sound sleep.' -- Shaunti Feldhahn, bestselling author of For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: FaithWords; Reprint edition (April 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599957183
• ISBN-13: 978-1599957180
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #893,269 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-out loud funny., April 27, 2008

By	P. Griffiths (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Hope, and Happily Ever After (Hardcover)

Memoir is not my favorite genre, but my wife loves it and she chortled her way all afternoon through the first half of this book, I wondered what I was missing out on. I found out when I stole it to catch up and then we read the rest of the book side-by-side: a laugh-out loud, disarmingly real look at the life of a single woman in America and her quest for happiness. Imagine if Anne Lamott wrote a how-to for finding a mate: witty, deep, spiritual, and awkwardly funny. You can't help but want Trish to triumph in the end.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVED this book, May 23, 2008

By	Caroline Coleman "a writer" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Hope, and Happily Ever After (Hardcover)

This is a great book. Smart, funny, honest, and well written. You want to give it to every friend you know who is looking for freedom, joy, peace and love by rearranging their furniture, and also to everyone who is having trouble believing in miracles. I can't recommend it enough.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Sarcasm and Sweet Surrender, April 28, 2008

By	Kelly Klepfer (Iowa) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Hope, and Happily Ever After (Hardcover)

He Loves Me, Loves Me Not is a well-written and engaging memoir along the lines of those penned by Donald Miller, and reminding me very much of Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God.

Trish Ryan lays out her journey from stars and crystals to a tentative step forward, three-step- back, and final two-handed grasp of the truth of Jesus as her source of spiritual fulfillment. The road is winding and full of poetic sarcasm and sweet, struggling surrender.

Miller fans, women who despair of finding that perfect Christian man, those on the brink of a spiritual journey, or ones beaten down by religion and empty promises may find soul-balm in this book. Baby-steppers in Jesus, wheel-spinners, spiritual quicksand dwellers and ditch rollers may find fresh air and relief from the struggle in the truths that Trish discovered while wrestling spirituality.

However, warning to the sensitive. Trish is transparently generous with her thoughts and not all will please more conservative readers. Trish has embraced freedom in Christ and though I highly recommend and sometimes long for that path, my Baptist upbringing cautions me far too often. So, if you are easily offended by the idea of a Christian drinking alcohol or sharing thoughts that wouldn't pass the prim Sunday School teacher appropriateness test....do yourself a favor and don't go there. Because, if you do go there you are going to not glean the truth from the book but get hung up in the details.

Sensitive parents will also want to review the book before allowing OLDER teens to read it because Trish delves into dysfunctional relationships, including her own issues.

The chapters covering Trish's growth into wife material really should be must-reading for all females who love Jesus and want a husband real bad.