UPDATE: If you join the Tyndale Rewards Program (which is totally free!) you’ll get points for reading Tyndale products/reviewing them/encouraging others to sign up. Then you can use these points for free books! It’s a win-win because who doesn’t love free books?!? You can sign up here.
If you use my link to sign up, you’ll automatically start your account with 25 points instead of 0, and it will give me 10 points!
Take advantage of this free program! Free books, and did I mention a free birthday gift? Yes. Win-win.
(P.S. after 10 minutes of filling out a few surveys about books on their website, and sending out a tweet, I already have 85 points!!! And I get a super nice Bible at 200. Or, I can use my 85 already for multiple books. Guys. This is easy-peasy.)
I’ve always been a reader, and so I was very happy the day I discovered Tyndale’s program where you can read (new) books for free if you’ll review them!
Umm, yes. Sign me up.
After scrolling through a list of titles, I chose this one:
Road Trip to Redemption
The book came out less than a month ago, and it’s all about “a disconnected family, a cross-country adventure, and an amazing journey of healing and grace.”
I chose this book because of one word: redemption.
It’s such a powerful word, and such a beautiful word when used in Stories. I couldn’t wait for the book to arrive so I could dig in and see the transformation in this family through the telling of their Story!
After a few weeks the book came, and I was able to read it this past week. Normally, I read an entire book in a day – but this one was slow-going for me. It’s not just a straight Story, and it’s not a self-help book. Brad Mathias combines the two into one. If that’s your sort of thing, you’ll love this! If you’re like me and would rather just hear the Story, this will be a bit hard to keep picking back up.
The book is divided into two sections. The first is about the background – why they’re taking a road trip and why they need redemption. I won’t ruin it for you, but Mathias’ daughter, Bethany, has been keeping a secret from everyone. When they find out, it rocks their world.
The second part is all about the road trip itself. I enjoyed this part a lot more – it was a lot more Story and a lot less self-help, in my opinion. Typically, I would think the background would be more of a story, but this book was a little bit different in that way.
Here’s the thing: I didn’t really like it. I won’t read it again, and I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends. Mathias talks mainly of one daughter and not much about his other two children – which really bothered me. It’s a slow-moving book and I just couldn’t relate.
Why?
Because this book wasn’t written for me.
It’s written for parents.
Yeah.
I didn’t know that from the title or description. But it is…it’s written for someone who has a child or children.
Seeing as I don’t, most of what this book said didn’t apply to me.
However, if you’re a parent and your child is struggling with something big, if your family feels strained or disconnected, or if you’ve walked that road and need to hear from someone else in the same sort of journey – this is your book.
Towards the end, Mathias begins to talk more about his other children – and I really appreciated that. It is a story about Bethany and her redemption, but the other two kids are just as important and I was glad to hear about them.
Mathias also includes a page or two written by each family member, and it was neat to see their perspective and hear ‘their voice.’
So if you’re my age and without children, don’t pick up this book for yourself. But maybe you know someone older, who would be encouraged by this story? If that’s the case, this story might be able to push them to keep walking the road their own, or maybe jump in a car for a long road trip – finding grace along the way.
*I was provided a copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers for review. I received no compensation, and all opinions are my own. Affiliate links are used.*
