Memoir

Forged Through Fire by Mark McDonough – Review

September 14, 2019 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

About the Book

When Mark McDonough was a teen, a catastrophic fire claimed the lives of his mother and younger brother. It also left Mark with burns on over 65 percent of his body. During a long and painful recovery, his faltering faith in God was strengthened by a remarkable near-death experience. Inspired to pursue a career as a plastic surgeon to help those who suffer as he has, McDonough has overcome numerous other adversities on his journey, including addiction and a stroke. Now he shares his incredible true story of survival and perseverance to bring hope and healing to those dealing with great physical and emotional pain.

Anyone who has suffered or watched a loved one suffer from a personal trauma, disease, or loss that has tested or stolen their faith and exhausted their emotional resources will find real hope in this redemptive story.

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Defining Normal

July 11, 2016 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

How do you define normal in your life? Are you comparing yourself to others around you? Is it dependent upon your paycheck? How successful you, your spouse, or your kids are? How well-adjusted your family appears to those around you?

The title of Shawn Thornton’s memoir, All but Normal, gives you a sense right away that his childhood, his family were different. As I read this book and walked through many of the events of Shawn and his brother’s childhood, one think struck me over and over again throughout this book.

While their family was not at all like those around the Thorntons—whether it be a messy house in which the members cleaned dishes in order to eat and cleared a space amidst the piles of stuff on the table, the yelling and cursing, or trying to stop his mom from hurting them or herself—Shawn never seemed resentful.

Sure, he questioned why they lived the way they did, he cried out to God, he rebelled, but throughout it all, he loved his mother. A mother who, quite frankly, at times would be unlovable.

The true heart of this story is in unconditional love. You see it in the interactions between Shawn’s mother and those she meets who are hurting. You see it in how, even though he fights back with her, Shawn’s father is protective of his wife (and later when he makes a conscious decision to handle things with her differently). And you see it in the hope that Shawn finds during his struggles (it comes in many forms, a mutt who shows up at the door and won’t leave, an encouraging word spoken by someone when he needs it most, and a conversation with one of his dad’s co-workers).

In today’s world where everyone wants others to believe they have it all together, people hide their hurt. Perhaps the couple next door is on the verge of divorce, a parent struggles with a teenager’s addiction to drugs or alcohol, a mother’s struggle to care for a young one with a disability, or something else, people need love. People need others to come alongside them and show them Jesus. And despite her rages, her cursing, her attempts to injure her family, that the truth that Beverly Thornton taught her children (who, by the way, both went into ministry as adults).

A book that tugged at my heart, had my laughing in a few places and in tears in even more, All but Normal is anything but your usual memoir. If you need encouragement, hope, or love, this book offers all of those and more.

****Tyndale Blog Network provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Getting Real by Gretchen Carlson

May 8, 2015 by Suzie Waltner 6 Comments

****Family Christian provided me with a copy of this book exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.****

Personally, I’m not someone who watches the news—or news channels, for that matter. Most of my news comes from the short emails from CNN in my email inbox. If it’s a story that interests me, I’ll read it. Otherwise, I’ll ignore it. So when I agreed to review Getting Real, I had no idea who Gretchen Carlson was (sorry Miss America pageant and Fox News).

Carlson details her life from childhood to present day—and it’s fascinating. Most people haven’t lived the life she did (most people, if proficient at anything, or only proficient at one thing). As a child, Carlson played violin well enough to play with professionals including orchestras and at music festivals. Her childhood was filled with practicing and recitals, not with makeup and sleepovers. She decided to give up a promising career as a violinist and pursue other dreams. When she set her sights on becoming Miss America, it became her only focus. She dieted, practiced, shopped, and studied everything about winning the pageant. And in 1989, she succeeded. After a year of speaking engagements and appearances, Carlson returned to Stanford to finish school with her sights set on her next goal—broadcast journalism. She had to fight to get to where she is today (her own show on Fox News) but when Carlson decides to do something, she goes for it without looking back.

It was fascinating to read about Carlson’s life—the struggles, the misconceptions and prejudices toward her because she is a woman, a former Miss America, or a blonde, and the people who came alongside her to encourage and grow her. She has opinions and is not afraid to share them with others. There was a mention in the first chapter about people giving her grief about sharing her faith, but I was almost to the end of the book before she mentioned her faith again (other than her grandfather being a Lutheran minister and his church). In the book, she shared a lot of hard things she had to deal with over the course of her life, but she never talked about her relationship with Christ or how he helped her through those things. More often than not, it was her pushing herself to the outcome she wanted. This fact bothered me a little bit as (at least to me) it’s more important to live your faith than to profess it. Yes, she does have a high profile and is in a great position to stand up for Christianity, but I would have liked to hear at least once in the book (perhaps with the medical scare for her daughter) that she turned to God to make it through that time. The story that touched me the most out of the whole book was the one about her daughter and her heart toward two little girls who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook shooting. This little girl is definitely living like Jesus would.

That said, Carlson seems to be a wonderful role model for women—standing up for women in the work place, balancing both a career and a family, asking the tough questions—and a woman who speaks her mind when it comes to the increasing intolerance in America toward Christianity and Christian beliefs. If you’re a fan of Carlson or maybe just want to get to know her better, this book will definitely show you the real woman.

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