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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anne Lamott Meets Phillip Yancey, October 9, 2000
This review is from: Living the Questions: Making Sense of the Mess and Mystery of Life (Paperback)
Carolyn's music has always asked the questions and done so eloquently. Oh me, of little faith...I still figured she must've had a collaborator on this project. A few days ago, my wife and I saw Carolyn perform some of her music and read portions from this new book. She was poignant and humble, funny and quick-witted, and she answered questions from the audience with the same honesty and vocabulary of the book. This book's for real. And that's the point... Carolyn lets her questions and struggles rise to the surface, lets us see her fears and failures and the way she's dealt with God in regards to such things. Through humorous and heart-touching chapters, she peels back the facade so many feel pressured to live behind, and shows us that God can handle our doubts. No, the answers may not always come easily, but the lines of communication are not disconnected by our struggles. I've read Anne Lamott--who, due to her harsher upbringing, may be more than a little shockingly honest for most Christians--and have enjoyed Phillip Yancey's writing, too. Carolyn Arends finds a happy medium by delivering road-tested wisdom in an always reverent manner. "Living the Questions" is a rare gem in a world of syrupy feel-goods and fakey Pharisee smiles. Here, the real Answer shines through.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended!, September 16, 2000
This review is from: Living the Questions: Making Sense of the Mess and Mystery of Life (Paperback)
As a fan of Carolyn Arends' folk/pop music for the last 4-5 years, I've always appreciated her gift for turning a clever phrase and crafting intelligent lyrics that plunge far deeper than most in Christian music. Of course, that's no guarantee that she could pull off a good book, but Carolyn has done just that -- and more. "Living the Questions" is one of the better books I've read in a long time, and I recommend it without hesitation. Written in a style reminiscent of Philip Yancey ("What's So Amazing About Grace?", "The Jesus I Never Knew"), Carolyn's publishing debut is a terrific read. You won't stop turning the pages as you walk the journey of faith with Carolyn -- a journey that's not always pretty but is, in this case, always gut-wrenchingly honest and vulnerable. Carolyn shares her highest highs and her lowest lows, including her doubts -- doubts that most of us share if we're honest with ourselves -- about God, His mysterious ways, and even His apparent absence when we wallow, like Job, in the muck of grief, despair and loneliness. The lure of Carolyn's book is that it doesn't neatly resolve life's toughest issues with pat answers, but despite -- and even because of -- these unresolved mysteries, her faith grows that much stronger. As a result, so did mine -- as will anyone's who reads this book. A must for your library, and a great gift for anyone serious about their Christian faith.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Awesome Read!, January 11, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Living the Questions: Making Sense of the Mess and Mystery of Life (Paperback)
There are times when you finish reading a book not because you want to, but more out of a feeling that you "have to." Then there are those books that you don't want to end. Each page keeps getting better and better, leaving you wanting more. "Living the Questions: Making Sense of the Mess and Mystery of Life," is such a book. Carolyn Arends' writing is poignant, tender and funny. She is an incredible story teller and has a way of making her story, her journey, seem very much like your own. Each story will leave you saying, "Wow," or "Incredible," under your breath. I don't think "gifted writer" is a fitting description of Carolyn's talents. Somehow even those words don't live up to the depth and breadth of Carolyn's abilities. I finished this book in two days and promptly got copies for several friends and relatives. This is a book that you immediately want to buy for someone else. Once you read it, you'll understand what I mean. And when you finish it you'll be telling others... "It's an awesome read!"
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