Customer Reviews

A New Kind of Normal: Hope-Filled Choices When Life Turns Upside Down

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1 star:		(5)

 

 

Carol Kent answers--with depth, compassion, and hope--what faith in God can enable you to do when your world falls apart. In this followup book to When I Lay My Isaac Down, she moves beyond the first lessons she learned about the sorrows of living in a fallen world--specifically, her son's arrest and life sentence for murder. A New Kind of Normal picks up the journey with guidance for what she calls "hope-filled choices." These include decisions to survive, persevere, be vulnerable, forgive, trust, love with open hands, be thankful, and choose purposeful action. If you have suffered greatly, and think all hope is lost, this book will encourage you to look up to God and His desire to reconstruct your life. You'll meet people who, like Carol and Gene Kent, went through excruciating personal pain: a severely disabled child, depression, family rifts, business failures, terminal brain cancer, a spouse's pornography addiction, wayward children, abortion, broken engagement, and the hardships of a military spouse's overseas deployment. If these problems aren't yours, but belong to people you care about, get this book in their hands. Within a week of reading it, I took my copy to a friend whose husband, like the Kents' son, is in prison for murder. Prepare to grieve anew with the Kents and those who allowed their own stories to be told, but also prepare to see the sovereignty of God even in imperfect and grievous circumstances.

This is a must have for anyone who is or has experienced a life altering circumstance. It is filled with hope giving encouragement and skills to move forward in and through difficult situations. Both the author and her husband reveal a raw honesty of their situation that only enhances the readers ability to connect and know that they too can move forward. This book would be of interest to both men and women.

The words of the verdict, "We the jury find Jason Paul Kent guilty of murder in the first degree" changed, forever, the lives of Carol and Gene Kent. Their only son, Jason Paul, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

"A New Kind of Normal" is the story of the choices they had to make to go on living after their dreams for their son were shattered. Carol incorporates the stories of other bruised and brokenhearted people who have been held captive by their trauma, addictions, abuse, or abortion.

Throughout the book, Carol illustrates parallels, from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, those emotions she was feeling as she relinquished her son to God.

Carol introduces the reader to choices that offer hope for a new kind of normal, meaningful life in the midst of adversity. Trust, perseverance, gratitude, vulnerability, relinquishment, forgiveness, and purposeful action are among the lessons Carol and Gene are experiencing in their new normal.

The chapters on relinquishment and vulnerability were especially meaningful to me. I appreciated the way both Carol and Gene made themselves vulnerable as they shared entries, telling of their journey, from their personal journals.

This book is for anyone who has faced an uncertain future because of an event in time, a "marker moment," which changed their lives forever. This is a remarkable story of a personal pursuit of God while being pummeled by testing and circumstances.

What a moving and strengthening book! A NEW KIND OF NORMAL is a lifeline for anyone facing a devastating situation. It is also a beacon for those dealing with every day disappointments. Author Carol Kent's transparent writing touched me deeply. She does not hold back as she relates her agonizing experiences about her son going to prison for murder. She points to the little and big things that have gotten her through. Big is her trust in God. Very helpful are the intimate thoughts and prayers that come from Carol and her husband Gene. They make it clear that they are still hurting. But they share victories and "courage for the long haul." This book is for real. It gives scriptural perspective that helps a person grow. It also includes several true stories from other people who have been "in the pits." I think A NEW KIND OF NORMAL sends a lasting message: No matter your situation, when you seek God through Christ, at just the right time, his living presence will sustain you.

I couldn't put this book down! I read it in two nights. Carol Kent, along with excerpts from her son and husband, show us what it means to not "spiritualize" pain and loss. I can't say "HURRAY" enough! There are so many Christians that just put a pious platitude on their pain, or the pain of others, and the connection that is intended by God between the two never happens. They become "holier than thou" in their suffering. Carol is just the opposite and I applaud her courage for leading the Christian community in the REAL struggle of faith.

I appreciated the author's honesty in sharing her struggles. So many authors would not be able to share such a painful situation in the life of her family. It gives hope to all of us who struggle with family issues that it is OK to express our doubts and fears and find that God is big enough to handle our doubts and questions.

After reading all of the reviews, it's understandable the feelings that come out of a situation like this. I never got the impression that Carol and her huband expect to get a lighter sentence. I belive that they have come to terms with the situation itself. I think the problem comes in with the criminal justice system itself. I don't see child abusers and sex offenders getting a harsh enough sentence and they have LONG rap sheets...it never seems fair, but either way I think we can all learn something from this situation, and I think that is her point in writing the book and speaking about it. Awful situtions happen in the world every day and coming to terms with it and helping others in similar situaions is the best we can do -with God's help - and I think that is the point of the book and she did that wonderfully.

For any family who has a relative in prison this is a must read. Helpful in the early adjustment periods of this new kind of normal.
Parris Martin

I'm so moved by Carol Kent's honesty, her grace and unrelenting faith in the midst of enormous heartbreak. This is her best book ever, one she certainly never dreamed of writing. For anyone who has experienced deep disappoint and pain of any kind, this book will give you fresh hope.
Virelle Kidder, author and conference speaker

"Pain is pain is pain," Kent says. Whether it is dealing with raising an autistic child, grieving the death of a son in Iraq, suffering the betrayal of a spouse, or living with paralysis from an accident; it's all pain.

Carol Kent speaks from her own experience of living a new kind of normal after her son is sentenced to life in prison without parole. She weaves together the true stories of many who suffer the pain of adjusting to a new kind of normal - including her perspective of the suffering of Mary the mother of Jesus. In each story she reveals the hope that carries a person through regardless of the circumstances.

If you are grieving the loss of a life that used to be or disappointment over a life you had hoped for, you will find encouragement, peace and hope in this book.

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