God Stories: They're So Amazing, Only God Could Make Them Happen

The syrup flows in these 59 inspirational stories about how God has touched the lives of various celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and sports, including Sandi Patty, Deana Carter, Bill Bright, Tiffany, Brett Butler and Stephanie Zimbalist. The author, a Christian songwriter, name-drops liberally in her introduction to each piece, gushing about her encounters with the celebrities she profiles. Readers may be well advised to skip the fawning introductions and delve into the uplifting stories themselves. In some cases, the miracles recounted are as simple as finding the right friend at the perfect time. Other anecdotes hinge upon supernatural claims, especially of healings (one bodyguard to the rich and famous says that his wife's waist was reduced by eight inches at a public healing service). The author recounts Ben Vereen's recovery from being hit by a truck; doctors thought he would never walk again, but ten months later he was dancing on Broadway. Michael Landon's stepdaughter testifies that when she survived a horrible car accident that killed everyone else involved, Landon promised God that he would glorify Him in all of his future television work. Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven were the family-oriented results. Such stories are interesting, partly because of the voyeurism of reading of celebrities being destitute, lonely or in excruciating physical pain. Still, they would pack more punch if Douglas had allowed participants to speak in the first person and had cut back on the ingratiating editorial commentary. (Nov.)