Book Review: Grace In Strange Disguise by Christine Dillon

Review by Natalie McNee @NatalieMcNee

Physiotherapist Esther Macdonald is living the Australian dream, and it doesn’t surprise her.

After all, her father has always said, “Follow Jesus and be blessed.” But at twenty-eight, her world shatters. Everyone assures her God will come through for her, but what happens when he doesn’t? Has she offended God? Is her faith too small? So many conflicting explanations.

Will finding the truth cost her the people closest to her heart?

What a delightful surprise this book by Christine Dillon has been. I was hooked with the first opening sentence; “You have cancer.” Dillon nailed the characters. The main character Esther is relatable in both her diagnosis and the anguish she endured when she realised her father believed her cancer and subsequent non-healing was due to a lack of faith and unconfessed sin in her life. I fist-pumped the air that an author was so brave to knock this false teaching that is still prevalently taught in churches today.

I was also glad that Dillon highlighted how God wants a relationship with us and not a religious routine. The use of “storytelling” the Bible was new to me and Dillon shared some teachings and insights that made me question the interpretation of certain scripture verses. There are some hidden gems in the Bible passages she uses which prompted me to share and discuss them with my husband too.

The only slight disappointment I had was when I reached the ending–I didn’t want it to end. At the time I didn’t realise it was part of a trilogy and I thought the ending should have been rewritten but once I read that Dillon was writing the next installment I sighed with relief that the story will continue.

I recommend this book to all Christians, those following Jesus and to those who have been hurt by churches and especially to those who question God with, “Why me?” This story of courage, faith, and God’s grace will change your perspective on what it means to be a Christian and encourage you to have an intimate relationship with your Father.

*I received a free copy of this book and the opinion expressed is solely mine.

About Natalie McNee

Natalie McNee is a mother of a tween and a toddler, so she gets the best of both crazy worlds. Her only escape is to hide out in the study and use her kids’ antics as inspiration in creating exciting children’s books. She is a hybrid children’s book author and an international best-selling ghostwriter of Christian non-fiction books.

Through her publishing company, she is helping authors to publish their passion projects and give a voice to everyday people who have extraordinary stories to share.

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Book Review: My Brother's Shadows, Hayley Reynolds

 By Dorothy Adamek 

My Brother's Shadows will inspire and trouble you. It will move you to grieve and pray, lament and celebrate, be angry and seek God, and finally to the sort of courage and faith Wayne himself so wonderfully displayed. I warmly recommend it to you. 
- Dr Rod Thompson (National Principal/CEO, Laidlaw College)

Hayley was 22 years old when her brother Wayne, then 16, was diagnosed the leukaemia, cancer of the blood. Within a few weeks Wayne also contracted a deadly fungal infection in his sinus, which spread to his left eye and then into his brain.

In this book, Hayley recounts the emotional journey she and her family took as Wayne fought his illnesses, before he tragically passed away 18 months later. It is filled with amazing courage and faith amidst pain and suffering, and finally points towards the ultimate source of hope itself

Dr Rod Thompson is not wrong in saying My Brother’s Shadows “will inspire and trouble you.” When a book follows one sister’s journey of faith through the trauma of losing her young brother to cancer, we can expect nothing less.

Hayley Reynolds examines the ageless questions of why bad things happen to good people, and why God allows some to be healed while others suffer and die. She wrestles with the inexplicable link between faith and healing, and the intolerable weight one must always ensure the other, when for Wayne and her family this did not pass.

As a mother of two sons aged in their late teens, I found this book especially hard to read. The unfathomable tragedy of losing a healthy child to unstoppable cancer was not a natural pull for me. But I needed to know more than the details of this courageous boy’s faith and battle for life. I wanted to know how his sister processed her loss after months of believing God would miraculously heal Wayne.

In the days before Wayne’s death, Hayley wrote; “Wayne’s illness had shaken my faith to its core and none of the normal Christian answers helped anymore.”

And yet, the harrowing final chapters of Wayne’s life open to Hayley’s discovery that God uses suffering to work in ways we cannot imagine. That He comforts as one whose pain matches our own.

Hayley’s fear her faith would be shattered by Wayne’s death, gave way to the life changing realization that even in death, especially in death, Jesus stood beside her.

I have one copy of My Brother's Shadows to giveaway to one ACW visitor. Leave a comment below to be in the draw. I'll announce the winner next Monday in the comment thread. 

My Brother’s Shadow, Hayley Reynolds ~ Acorn Press 
New Zealand Version ~ http://www.waynereynoldstrust.co.nz/products/

Highly Recommended

Hayley Reynolds completed a PhD in melanoma research at the Auckland Bioengineering Institue, The University of Auckland, NZ, before carrying out further research into breast cancer. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Theology from Laidlaw College, Auckland. 

*****

Dorothy Adamek lives in Melbourne with her Beloved and their three gorgeous kids. 

She's the winner of the 2013 FHL ~ Touched By Love Competition. Enamoured by all things 19th century, she writes The Heartbeat of Yesteryear, Historical Romance - Aussie style. Come say G'day at her blog, Ink Dots.