Scan barcode
vcoulter's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
I pretty much only write reviews when I want to explain more than x/5 could tell you.
I wanted to love this book. I know that I am from a different (more liberal) Christian tradition than the author and I am willing to suspend some judgement knowing I’m a little outside the target audience. On the other hand, I’ve lived with chronic illness my whole life. I’m collecting diagnoses and struggling with how I view my value when I can’t fit in to the perfect mold for our society with my shitty pancreas and thyroid, my shit immune system, my unexplainable aches and pains.
There were not just sentences but whole paragraphs where tears would spring to my eyes because I felt seen. And then, just as it felt like we were going to hit the real Truth of the matter, we would fall back into platitudes and paraphrased bible verses. And I get it. I get how hard it is to be vulnerable about these things. I get how hard it is to even put words on the unspeakable traumas so many people (including myself) experience. But it feels like a moment where even silence would be better than hiding.
I appreciate the reminders that God loves even my broken body. But when we’re right at the cliff, I want someone to hold my hand and jump with me, instead of reassuring me that I could jump safely. And if not that, then someone who would witness my fall. And all I could feel was the backing away from the real truth. I know it’s a book and my projection, but I was still left disappointed.
Everything Happens for a Reason had the same general vibe but with the added benefit of feeling like the author was actually jumping with me. I am not sure the difference, but it’s there. And made this book a slog despite the sprinkles of connection.
I wanted to love this book. I know that I am from a different (more liberal) Christian tradition than the author and I am willing to suspend some judgement knowing I’m a little outside the target audience. On the other hand, I’ve lived with chronic illness my whole life. I’m collecting diagnoses and struggling with how I view my value when I can’t fit in to the perfect mold for our society with my shitty pancreas and thyroid, my shit immune system, my unexplainable aches and pains.
There were not just sentences but whole paragraphs where tears would spring to my eyes because I felt seen. And then, just as it felt like we were going to hit the real Truth of the matter, we would fall back into platitudes and paraphrased bible verses. And I get it. I get how hard it is to be vulnerable about these things. I get how hard it is to even put words on the unspeakable traumas so many people (including myself) experience. But it feels like a moment where even silence would be better than hiding.
I appreciate the reminders that God loves even my broken body. But when we’re right at the cliff, I want someone to hold my hand and jump with me, instead of reassuring me that I could jump safely. And if not that, then someone who would witness my fall. And all I could feel was the backing away from the real truth. I know it’s a book and my projection, but I was still left disappointed.
Everything Happens for a Reason had the same general vibe but with the added benefit of feeling like the author was actually jumping with me. I am not sure the difference, but it’s there. And made this book a slog despite the sprinkles of connection.
carraugh's review
3.0
I think this book could be helpful for people but I personally found it difficult to connect with the writing and didn’t gain much new insight from it. I appreciated the author’s openness with telling her story
heatherer's review
3.0
I did not manage to finish this book, so feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. I enjoyed the I/me parts of the book but found it hard to relate to the we/our ones. I wish the author had been able to share the ideas in those sections through continued personal narrative. As it was, I found them to be something of a slog - mainly lengthy ideas separated from their full context and not all that familiar to the corner of the church I come from.
bnpuryear's review
5.0
i’ve spent the past 1.5 months reading this sloooow and soaking in the words. KJ writes about (in a stunning balance) neuroscience, therapy, suffering, trauma, spirituality, the mortality our bodies, and the human condition. she talks about her experience in the church with chronic illness - how suffering is often dismissed by platitudes that are meant to offer comfort, but hurt instead. so very grateful for writers who speak about truth and hard things.
content warning for trauma, chronic illness, church hurt & spiritual bypassing ❤️
content warning for trauma, chronic illness, church hurt & spiritual bypassing ❤️
trutiffany's review
5.0
An incredible book. Everyone needs to read it. KJ presents a compelling picture of how life, even in the midst of pain and suffering, is an opportunity to encounter God.
michellef's review
5.0
This Too Shall Last is a Christian living book by author K.J. Ramsey.
Can Christians still testify of God’s grace after decades of pain? What about after a year of a Pandemic? Could our suffering be a throne? When we see Jesus will He say “well done”?
As I read the title I keep wanting to read ‘this too shall pass. But, what if it doesn’t? What if ‘it’ lasts instead. Author K.J. Ramsey points out that doesn’t make us any less of a Christian, someone who doesn’t have enough faith.
Many a person has been hurt by others telling them they don’t have enough faith or that the hurting person must have dire sin in their lives. But, even Jesus came to suffer. He never sinned.
I recommend This Too Shall Last to readers with chronic pain or loss.
Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
Can Christians still testify of God’s grace after decades of pain? What about after a year of a Pandemic? Could our suffering be a throne? When we see Jesus will He say “well done”?
As I read the title I keep wanting to read ‘this too shall pass. But, what if it doesn’t? What if ‘it’ lasts instead. Author K.J. Ramsey points out that doesn’t make us any less of a Christian, someone who doesn’t have enough faith.
Many a person has been hurt by others telling them they don’t have enough faith or that the hurting person must have dire sin in their lives. But, even Jesus came to suffer. He never sinned.
I recommend This Too Shall Last to readers with chronic pain or loss.
Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
aarikdanielsen's review
5.0
More than a few times, while reading KJ Ramsey's "This Too Shall Last," I found myself thinking, "I wish KJ was my therapist." Then, almost immediately, I'd realize "Well, in these pages, she is." My friend KJ enters the centuries-old Christian conversation around suffering with a heart full of fire and words dripping with grace. Anyone whose suffering hasn't been prayed away, who has felt on the outside of the body of Christ looking in, who has ever asked "Where is God in this?" will see themselves in this book and feel the kind embrace of Christ.
sarahfett's review
4.0
I was expecting a spiritual memoir, but this is actually a theology book with a scattering of short personal narratives. I personally would have preferred more memoir, but it is a good book addressing an important issue.