Mended: Thoughts on Fear, Love, & Leaps of Faith
by Anna White

When Anna approached me and asked me to read her book and write a review I was so excited! I love writing reviews and love authors reaching out to me to read their new books. I love the dedication of the book “For my husband. Whose love showed me it is possible to be both broken and beautiful.” How true is that of each of us? How much is that something that I have been churning in my mind since the bombing. If not in those same words. “Both broken and beautiful.”

I love how she shared that her normal response to suffering is to withdraw. To retreat into herself. But when she suffered a miscarriage and shared her grief, wrote about it, told others about it, people rose up who had been through the same thing, who knew what she was going through, who could carry her through her sorrow and helped her heal. I can totally relate. Healing only happens when you open up, let it go, share it. It is amazing how many people will stand up and say “I’ve been there, I know what you’re going through, let me walk with you.”

Anna shares a lot about her suffering, her struggles, her growth. I feel like it all ties in. Suffering. Growth. She quotes Chris Cleave; “We must see all scars as beauty. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived.”

The book reads as journal entries. Short little nuggets of life. A few paragraphs about each topic. She writes about fear, grief, love and God. He is the hope. Light in the darkness. Our perfect love.  “No matter how old we are, not matter what our deepest words are, this is what the Father whispers: You too are worthy. You too are loved. You too are precious.”

I hope if you are struggling or in a dark place you can pick up this book and find some hope.