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A review by cmbhusker
The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life's Hard by Kara Tippetts
3.0
I read this as part of a woman's book group in my church. As another reviewer noted, I'm reviewing the book as a book, and not as any sort of commentary on how Kara or her family handled this devastating experience.
The biggest drawback of this book, in my opinion, is that it maybe wasn't exactly sure what it wanted to be. Or, perhaps Kara knew what she wanted it to be, but it was never particularly clear. At many points, it seemed to veer between: 1) a personal reflection on her journey, 2) a panegyric to her husband and children, who are all, it seems, spiritual giants, 3) theological thoughts, and 4) some sort of guide to living in the present. I liked the book best while reading it as the first of these things, and my guess is that overall, that was the author's intention in writing it. But there were times when it seemed to dip its toe into "guide to living" territory and it did not work as well (at least to me.)
The book was also a bit scattershot--I could overlook this, because Kara was not necessarily an author, and in some ways, this was very appropriate, because her journey was, as most people's are, uneven and untidy, and that was reflected in the writing and structure. I suspect some people would like this, because it may ring more true and authentic for them. However, others might just find it annoying and hard to follow. :)
Overall, I still think this is a book well worth reading. It's not a long read, and we found it very good for prompting discussion in our group. I really liked how Kara used quotations from other sources throughout the book--it helped shape the text, and I really loved some of the ones she included. There are some great, challenging thoughts in this book, so it's worth a read.
The biggest drawback of this book, in my opinion, is that it maybe wasn't exactly sure what it wanted to be. Or, perhaps Kara knew what she wanted it to be, but it was never particularly clear. At many points, it seemed to veer between: 1) a personal reflection on her journey, 2) a panegyric to her husband and children, who are all, it seems, spiritual giants, 3) theological thoughts, and 4) some sort of guide to living in the present. I liked the book best while reading it as the first of these things, and my guess is that overall, that was the author's intention in writing it. But there were times when it seemed to dip its toe into "guide to living" territory and it did not work as well (at least to me.)
The book was also a bit scattershot--I could overlook this, because Kara was not necessarily an author, and in some ways, this was very appropriate, because her journey was, as most people's are, uneven and untidy, and that was reflected in the writing and structure. I suspect some people would like this, because it may ring more true and authentic for them. However, others might just find it annoying and hard to follow. :)
Overall, I still think this is a book well worth reading. It's not a long read, and we found it very good for prompting discussion in our group. I really liked how Kara used quotations from other sources throughout the book--it helped shape the text, and I really loved some of the ones she included. There are some great, challenging thoughts in this book, so it's worth a read.