BOOK REVIEW: And now you know the rest of the story …

You know that really good book that tells such a compelling, true story that you want the author to write a follow-up book so you can know the rest of the story? “Let’s Pretend We’re Normal” (published by WaterBrook Press) is the follow-up to that kind of book.

Last year I reviewed, “And Life Comes Back” by Tricia Lott Williford (you can find the blog post of that review here), a powerful story of a Christian husband and wife in love who were raising two young boys and enjoying the life and family God had blessed them with. About the first half of the book draws you into their beautiful love story when the book shifts and tells the story of how, very suddenly, the husband dies and life as the wife and boys knew it is immediately rocked and permanently, indelibly changed.

That book takes you just far enough through the story to make you think this new, young widow and her little boys are going to face a lot of struggles, but the Lord would see them through. By the time you closed the last page of that book, it left you wondering how things would turn out for this now single mom and her kids.

“Let’s Pretend We’re Normal” picks up where “And Life Comes Back” left off. This book gives the reader who was delighted and blessed by Williford’s story the chance to rejoin the drama and adventure to discover how she and her sons pulled through the loss of loving husband and father to begin forging a different life as a trio.

Like most stories with sequels or told in a series, the original story was the most compelling and most dramatic; “Let’s Pretend We’re Normal” doesn’t contain the trauma or drama of Williford’s first book, and occasionally some of the stories drag a little as they aren’t as compelling as I think the author hopes they would be.

But I do think this book tells an interesting story that readers of the first book will definitely enjoy. Williford shares the despairing struggle to move forward after losing the love of her life, and incredible challenge of raising and caring for two energetic boys who have suddenly lost their beloved father. There is more to this book than focusing on grief; there are also enjoyable stories of a re-shaped family discovering each other in new ways, and delightful tales of how a very rich love for one another and God is getting this little family through their terrible loss to move forward in life together.

If you read Williford’s first book, you owe it to yourself to complete the story by reading “Let’s Pretend We’re Normal” so that you can get the rest of the story. It’s a story worth reading, one that will leave you with a smile and being thankful that it looks like this family is pulling through.

Scotty

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”