I Give Up: The Secret Joy of a Surrendered Life

In this inspiring memoir, Story (When God Doesn’t Fix It), a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, explores recent personal turmoil and the ways uncertainty has opened her to God’s plan. After her husband is diagnosed with a brain tumor, a pregnant Story learns that her son will be born with a cleft palate. The occurrences stun her and inspire her recommit to God. In addition to sharing her own experiences, she provides examples from the Bible of those who surrendered to God’s plan, including Esther, Hannah, Joseph, and Jesus. “Choosing to believe God when a situation remains unresolved... is a serious lesson in surrender.” Story addresses how one’s choices affect others and why the act of surrendering often leads to the betterment or reconciliation of relationships. Following her husband’s recovery and the healthy birth of her son (whose cleft palate required less surgery than they imagined), she explains how “giving up” allowed God to use her disappointments to display his glory. Story also includes uplifting lyrics from her songs and concludes chapters with prayers based on the idea of surrender. Her tale of maintaining faith through hardship and her message that “surrender is the secret to a life of joy” will appeal both to fans of her music and Christian readers alike. [em](July) [/em]