The Book Review I Can't Write

I would love to tell you that I am about to write a fabulous, insightful review of Tony Woodlief's first book, Somewhere More Holy. I would love to think that I had pithy and important things to say about it - things that would even rival Tony's honesty and humor.

But I don't. I can only say this: if you don't read this book, you will miss something wonderful.

By "wonderful" I don't mean pie in the sky. I don't mean cheerful, riotously amusing, fa-la-la fun - I don't mean lots of things. By wonderful I instead mean real, hopeful, heart-wrenching, beautiful, mercy-filled, funny - all at the same time and sometimes in the same sentence.

Read. And know as you do: this is not a book by Beth Moore-with-a-beard. It's by a real person, who has experienced real pain, real grace, and (sometimes) our real God. So it's a real book. And real books should be read, just as real people should be befriended and loved and forgiven.

Read. And thank God for mercy and hope and pain and love and all that it means to be here, now, in this place.

That's all I have to say. Blessings, y'all.