Of Stillness and Storm (Review)

This review is for the book "Of Stillness and Storm" by Michele Phoenix. In this book, Lauren and her husband Sam's story is told. We find that when they first meet, the attraction is there, but Sam is concerned that they are not on the same level spiritually. Lauren assures him that she is just as serious about her faith as he is. After marriage and a child, Sam feels the call from God to go to Nepal to serve as a missionary. Unfortunately, Lauren and their son do not feel the same call. In the end, they go to Nepal, and it doesn't take long for a huge wedge to be thrown into their relationships. Sam is gone for weeks at a time, and Lauren and their son Ryan have this sense of abandonment.

When Lauren's friend urges her to join Facebook in an attempt to connect with the outside world, she suddenly finds a person from her past wanting to communicate with her. From the very beginning, readers will get the vibe that she's going down a dangerous path by communicating with him. In the end, the whole family has a lot of choices to make in regards to their faith and family.

This book was so sad to me. It was really troubling to see this family being twisted and pulled based on the calling that the father felt he had. It was sad to see Lauren feel like she had to lean on a friend she hadn't spoken to in 20 years rather than her husband. It was torture to see the loneliness and hopelessness in the son that no one else seemed to notice. I think the book was really well written, and it was probably quite realistic, and maybe that's what bothered me so much about it.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for a copy of the book.