Shannon Huffman Polson has bravely woven together the dialogue she struggled/struggles with in her mind and heart after her father and stepmother were killed by an Alaskan grizzly bear. Her book, a memoir, winds effortlessly between her current search for understanding and release, the ties she feels through her choir participation in Mozart's Requiem in memory of her loved ones, and memories of her past.
A grieving heart may find comfort in this book; relate to the soul-searching, the questioning, and the desire to make a pilgrimage in honor of a lost loved one, seeking answers that may never come (and finding peace with that). My sadness at the end of this book is found in the deep desired longing to find the peace that God offers; I'm left wondering what kind of peace Shannon found. Was it just a peace to move on with life or was it an everlasting peace?
I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I've lost many loved ones in my life; through age, disease, and tragic situations. I can't imagine that death of our loved ones could be easy for anyone. Knowing there is true hope in life eternal found through Jesus Christ, our Creator and Saviour, gives my heart a peace beyond understanding. It isn't found in what we do in the here and now. (Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast.") My disappointment in this book isn't found in Shannon's honest reflection of what she has gone through.. It is found in the most significant missing story: a lost soul won't read anywhere in this book about how to find the peace that only comes through salvation and a true faith found in Jesus' redemptive work on the cross.
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