B
estselling novelist and children’s author Bergren consolidates efforts with Price, a marketing consultant, to guide evangelical women toward experiencing the best God has to give. They compile interviews from hundreds of women across the nation on such diverse life topics as love, friendship, finances, joy, balance, physical health, purpose and developing a richer relationship with God. Each chapter features brief interviews with popular Christian authors and speakers such as Liz Curtis Higgs, Carol Kent, Kay Arthur and Jan Silvious. Readers will also appreciate the real-life insights and inspiration gleaned from numerous women whose excerpts were taken from the surveys. A particularly helpful section challenges women to give their best to friendships even when that means risking rejection and personal sacrifice. Citing the Ruth 1:16 passage so often quoted at weddings, the authors rightly correct readers’ misconceptions of the focus of this verse whose emphasis is on the friendship between Ruth and Naomi, her mother-in-law, not Ruth and a man. Christian women will enjoy this text for its diversity of contributors and their stories. Sadly, the bulk of the practical material, though helpful, is not particularly original. (July 17)
