Title: Finding the Narrow Path: Patterns, Faith and Searching
Author: Lin Wilder
Genre: Christian Living, Religious Faith, Catholicism
Book Blurb:
Deciding to walk away from God did not come easily or quickly. Nor did the decision to return.
These kinds of tumultuous events feel as if they happen impulsively, spontaneously. But, if we take the time to look back at patterns, we find the seeds of the decision sown years before the actual action. This was not a book medical fiction writer Lin Wilder planned to write. Ever. Until she remembered a promise made to a friend years before.
Author Wilder explains: Exactly how much of my personal life should be included in this book has been a tough decision to make. This is, after all, the story of a conversion, not an autobiography. Many of my choices, judgments, and their consequences remain painful, even humiliating to revisit, writing them down, even more so. Initially, I questioned the relevance of describing elements of my career, education and relationships with men- in short, my pre-Catholic world in detail. Since I did not convert until midlife, there are a lot of territories to cover. But I realize that my use of the term 'lost years' makes no sense unless I place them squarely in the context of the person I was then. Without the details of my early life, unpleasant as they are to recall, much less write, this sense of drifting and of aimlessness are merely words which lack substance. They are unidimensional. In talks to church groups about life with and without my faith, I frequently used 'ground' while I stomped the floor I stood on, forcefully, as I worked to convey what is gained and lost with and without faith.
Faith and all which accompanies religion like regular church attendance and a belief that there is something greater here, someone present, informs our decisions and choices, even our goals. Just so, its absence widens all boundaries. More and more is acceptable.
This, at times, brutally honest story of the reasons for Wilder's walk away from God, then years later, return, cannot fail to provoke and challenge.
My Review:
* Warning - Due to the author's intense personal experiences, if a reader has a trigger that stems from abortion or the open, frank discussion of the topic from both the pro choice and pro life side then they must be very careful reading this book. *
As a loyal reader of this author's incredibly well written fiction, I felt like I was being honored with a peek behind the curtain. Reading this book is not unlike Toto pulling back the curtain to reveal the Wizard. If I had one word to describe this creation, it would be brave.
There is nothing as terrifying for someone than to open up their personal life for public exposure. The illustration of the path that the author took to reach her faith-based home in Catholicism could only be told properly if from the personal perspective. The author tells the story of her life in unvarnished truth.
There were times when I was taken to tears, when I gasped and when I laughed. The life led by this author could be one you see on the big screen in the sheer drama and twists and turns. I feel I know the author better and more personally having read this book and I think this is an important work in the faith field.
If you are one who had a faith-based life and walked (or ran) away from it, this book could be a possible path back to faith. Where this author found a home in Catholicism, the genus of this story is that just because you once had faith and lost it doesn't mean it is gone forever.
Intensely personal, gripping and well written. If you love the works of Lin Wilder, you should read this book.
My Rating: 5 stars
Buy it Now:
Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-the-narrow-path-lin-wilder/1126704754?ean=2940154439708
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/finding-the-narrow-path-patterns-faith-and-searching-by-lin-wilder
Author Biography:
Lin Wilder holds a Doctorate in Public Health and has published extensively in fields like cardiac physiology, institutional ethics, and hospital management. In 2007, she switched from non-fiction to fiction. Her series of the medical thrillers include many references to the Texas Medical Center where Lin worked for over twenty-three years. Her first novel, The Fragrance Shed By A Violet: Murder in the Medical Center was a winner in the 2017 IAN 2017 Book of the Year Awards, a finalist in the category of mystery. Malthus Revisited: The Cup of Wrath, the fourth in the Dr.Lindsey McCall medical mystery series, won Silver/2nd Place award in the 2018 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program for the Women's Fiction category. Finding the Narrow Path is the true story of why she walked away from -then back to God. All her books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and at her website, linwilder.com where she writes weekly articles.
Social Media Links:
Website www.linwilder.com
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/linwilder
Reviewed by: Mr. N