4.59

4

May 10, 2013

From our CALEB reviewers:

Four and a half stars.

In his book Resurrection Year author Sheridan Voysey shares an intimate glimpse into his private life with his wife Merryn. The reader quickly understands more fully and has compassion for those who have suffered the pain, heartache and disappointment of having tried but failed to conceive as a result of IVF treatment.

Sheridan shares their most intimate thoughts, heartbreak and the effects that this has on their faith in God and their relationship From our CALEB reviewers:

Four and a half stars.

In his book Resurrection Year author Sheridan Voysey shares an intimate glimpse into his private life with his wife Merryn. The reader quickly understands more fully and has compassion for those who have suffered the pain, heartache and disappointment of having tried but failed to conceive as a result of IVF treatment.

Sheridan shares their most intimate thoughts, heartbreak and the effects that this has on their faith in God and their relationship with each other. All options are considered but then, after a decade of trying to discern of God’s will, Sheridan and Merryn come to terms with their situation and begin to live again. But not in the way they had lived ten years earlier. Resurrection Year was birthed as a result of their new lifestyle.

Resurrection Year is a meaningful 21st Century memoir and will be remembered long after many other books have been forgotten. It is a memorable book and is a ‘must read’ for anyone considering IVF treatment. But not just them – for counsellors and prayer ministers who are called to minister to and understand the issues facing those seeking fertility treatment.

For all readers, it is a very readable and well written book. It is an often poignant account covering a decade of two people’s lives and the reader will be gifted with compassion and understanding for those facing this 21st century issue.

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5

May 28, 2013

Most memoirs narrated by Christians are true life tales of overcoming adversity, triumphing in the face of disastrous circumstances, encountering a miracle when faith finally has its day.

If you’re looking for the fairytale HEA, this is not the biography to read. It’s a chronicle of a decade of heartache as Sheridan and his wife finally exhaust all their options and face the fact they will never have a child of their own. It’s a record of that sickness that comes with hope too long deferred.

As a Most memoirs narrated by Christians are true life tales of overcoming adversity, triumphing in the face of disastrous circumstances, encountering a miracle when faith finally has its day.

If you’re looking for the fairytale HEA, this is not the biography to read. It’s a chronicle of a decade of heartache as Sheridan and his wife finally exhaust all their options and face the fact they will never have a child of their own. It’s a record of that sickness that comes with hope too long deferred.

As a writer who puts a lot of effort into helping other writers cross the perilous threshold into publication, I found the last section of the book the most interesting. Sheridan had been the host of the radio programme (yes, I still spell it with an extra ‘me’) Open House. Well-known in Christian circles across Australia, Sheridan struggles to find a British publisher when his wife begins work in Oxford. His influence gone, he is continually asked by editors if he’s about to start up a show in the UK. The quality of his writing has nothing to do with it — they want a ‘big name’.

This opened to me a whole new appreciation for Aussie and Kiwi Christian publishers who take enormous risks on authors who simply have great stories and are only just starting to build a platform to help make themselves known. ...more

3

Mar 29, 2014

I'm grateful for the theme of this book-saying good-bye to unfulfilled dreams--letting go of the dream itself. It's a real and uncomfortable response that hasn't been discussed much in the modern Christian life. The writing was a bit disjointed but worth the read for this quote: "Perhaps a greater tragedy than a broken dream is a life forever defined by it."

5

May 27, 2013

Sheridan Voysey was a successful radio broadcaster with a loyal following across Australia, when in 2011, at the peak of his career, he suddenly quit and disappeared overseas.

In Resurrection Year, Voysey reveals that he and his wife Merryn had concluded a devastating ten-year battle with infertility. Their dream of bearing a child dashed, the pair had left all they know pursue his wife's "consolation prize"- an international working adventure.

This compelling book follows the couple's journey Sheridan Voysey was a successful radio broadcaster with a loyal following across Australia, when in 2011, at the peak of his career, he suddenly quit and disappeared overseas.

In Resurrection Year, Voysey reveals that he and his wife Merryn had concluded a devastating ten-year battle with infertility. Their dream of bearing a child dashed, the pair had left all they know pursue his wife's "consolation prize"- an international working adventure.

This compelling book follows the couple's journey from ruined hope to new horizons. It takes us deep into the heart of their private lives - from the bedroom, to the boardroom, to the doctor's surgery, to emotion-charged prayer meetings. We read of their medical battles, their fears, identity struggles, and spiritual questioning: Is God good? Mean? Silent? Why don't fairytales come true?

Refreshingly, though, this is no heavy-going treatise on pain and suffering. The writing is artistic, metaphoric, at times cinematic, and seasoned often with colour, fun, and Voysey's self-effacing comic wit - attributes that his radio fans would be familiar with. I had plenty of big laughs, in between my tears. And when the pair travel Europe in search of answers and restoration, it's as pretty as a picture book - as they slow down in Italy, seek answers in the Swiss Alps, get lost in the maze of Venice, lose themselves in Rome's ancient architecture, and revel in Oxford's rich history.

Part memoir, part travel journal, part theology, part philosophy, and in all parts love-story, Resurrection Year is a beautiful, uplifting, and deeply thoughtful work. It offers real, universal hope, for anyone who's faced disappointment. Which is most of us. Not a schmaltzy promise of fairytales coming true, but an assurance that, even after the most dead and shattered of dreams, can come wonderful, invigorating new life.
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5

May 27, 2013

I made a mistake. I picked up Resurrection Year at 11pm one winter’s evening to read the opening chapter so I could decide whether I would enjoy reading this book with such an enticing title. At 3am I really had to put it down knowing I had work the next morning. The story of Sheridan and Merryn Voysey’s journey towards a Resurrection Year is deeply moving, personal and full of grating anguish. While I had a hint of knowing what was in store, it can’t prepare you for the way in which Sheridan I made a mistake. I picked up Resurrection Year at 11pm one winter’s evening to read the opening chapter so I could decide whether I would enjoy reading this book with such an enticing title. At 3am I really had to put it down knowing I had work the next morning. The story of Sheridan and Merryn Voysey’s journey towards a Resurrection Year is deeply moving, personal and full of grating anguish. While I had a hint of knowing what was in store, it can’t prepare you for the way in which Sheridan rolls out years of stumbling steps towards a broken dream.

The story connects with all of us who have suffered loss or driven down a one way street thinking it was the short-cut to the ‘highway’. I had just recently suffered my own dead end street and I was reading ‘Resurrection Year to find the answer I had missed in my own journey. I thought Sheridan might have a magic answer. I hoped he had found the 12th step in some program where I’d only found 11. The reality is that Sheridan takes us through the heart-break of a journey that doesn’t as much go around the mountain as it instead goes up and over mountain after mountain experiencing the valley floor and then the pinnacle view, only to head to the valley again.

Sheridan’s writing takes you visually through their experience in a journey that travels around the world taking in the life of this Australian writer and broadcaster in his land down under before a trip to the romance of Europe and then embracing the life that a little flat in England might offer on the edge of Oxford University. As he looks for hope, Sheridan absorbs any possible hint of beauty in nature and architecture. It’s a picture of someone hungry for their dream and yet in the hopeless void of darkness still recognising the hope and beauty that is beaming through a crack in the experience.

This is a story that many husbands and wives should read. Sometimes our dreams are known and realised and sometimes they were squashed a long time ago by an experience or layers of life’s silt that gathered. I believe Resurrection Year will be a catalyst for couples and individuals to talk about a journey that may have been placed on hold and may need a new itinerary for a new journey.

Through Sheridan’s writings we hear the heartbeat of his wife Merryn as she struggles through the pressure and pain of their desire to embrace parenthood. I most of all connected with Merryn’s determination to ‘get back in touch’ with the God she loved and believed in yet felt she was on the ‘do not call’ phone list of heaven.

Here we have a story that helps us understand the faith issues as a young couple seek to honour God in their life experience, yet having to evaluate what is their own role and what is God’s. The conundrum of looking at the prayer and practice of chasing a deeply seated desire is very clearly laid out as they recall events where seeking God seemed fruitless. You will probably relate as you read of prayer meetings where friends and strangers offered heartfelt prayers and advice that simply didn't carry you any further towards the goal.

Resurrection Year will help rebuild hope, touch-up the faded picture of God’s heart in your life and most of all give us the canvas and framework on which fresh purpose can be designed.
Link to Review including Video and Podcast interview: andrewpitchford.com
Sheridan Voysey
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5

May 28, 2013

Resurrection Year tells the story of Sheridan and Merryn Voysey’s 10-year journey through the wilderness of infertility. We follow them through the high and lows of expectations, hope, prayer, repeated IVF treatments, adoption applications, and disappointments as their quest to have a child ends in heartache. However, while there are certainly many poignant moments in the book, it is not a depressing read. Instead, Voysey recounts their journey with great warmth, honesty, and humour. He has a Resurrection Year tells the story of Sheridan and Merryn Voysey’s 10-year journey through the wilderness of infertility. We follow them through the high and lows of expectations, hope, prayer, repeated IVF treatments, adoption applications, and disappointments as their quest to have a child ends in heartache. However, while there are certainly many poignant moments in the book, it is not a depressing read. Instead, Voysey recounts their journey with great warmth, honesty, and humour. He has a very engaging writing style that makes you want to turn the pages as he switches from narrative to journal entries to dialogue to anecdotes.

Their experience prompts them to ask serious questions about suffering, unanswered prayer, and the goodness of God. As they say goodbye to their dream of having children, they decide to move to England to embark on a resurrection year of new beginnings. Merryn has secured a job as a medical research statistician at Oxford University and loves her new position. However, Sheridan faces his own questions of identity as he struggles to find his voice in his new home. After hosting an influential Christian radio program in Australia and having several successful books under his belt, he finds it difficult to break into broadcasting and publishing in the UK where he doesn’t have an established platform. But God has plans for this couple, and the resurrection year ends with a breakthrough for Sheridan as well. It was also interesting to read how Adrian and Bridget Plass helped them on their journey.

Although this book follows a couple’s battle with infertility, it would be relevant for anyone who has had to say goodbye to a dream. That broken dream might involve children or marriage, the death of a loved one, a chronic illness or a career that didn’t work out. If you’ve had a wilderness experience, this is a book that offers hope. As Voysey notes, “the wilderness is the ground between what was and what will be—the place between slavery and freedom, between immaturity and wisdom, between God’s promise and its fulfilment, between who we were and who we are to be … After the wilderness comes a new beginning.” This book is highly recommended.

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5

Jan 20, 2016

Loved this book. I read it in one evening; I just couldn't put it down. Sheridan and his wife Merryn went through a ten year quest to have children and it didn't happen. This isn't about the miracle baby and the happy ending. It's about what happens when you don't get your happy ending. Really amazing book to read if you are struggling with infertility but the lessons could be transferred to other situations too where dreams haven't come true.

5

Aug 16, 2013

A frank and poignant autobiography of his and his wife's struggle with infertility. Beautifully written, mesmerising story of how there can be life after broken dreams. A wealth of material will be found in this book - I quoted from it extensively in my sermon last week. A real treasure from a fantastic author.

5

Oct 30, 2018

Resurrection Year is a beautiful memoir of loss and hope. Sheridan Voysey shares the intimate and heartbreaking journey of a decade of dashed hopes as he and his wife navigate the waters of infertility and how they found a new beginning in life and faith. With an honest and poetic voice, Sheridan documents this journey with a skillful hand, a touch of humor and much wisdom learned through trials.
As Sheridan so eloquently says, “Perhaps a greater tragedy than a broken dream is a life forever Resurrection Year is a beautiful memoir of loss and hope. Sheridan Voysey shares the intimate and heartbreaking journey of a decade of dashed hopes as he and his wife navigate the waters of infertility and how they found a new beginning in life and faith. With an honest and poetic voice, Sheridan documents this journey with a skillful hand, a touch of humor and much wisdom learned through trials.
As Sheridan so eloquently says, “Perhaps a greater tragedy than a broken dream is a life forever defined by it.” Whatever your particular dream, Resurrection Year offers a thought-provoking companion on the road to figuring out the question: what is next when your one big dream is lost?
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5

May 28, 2013

This is a great read - hard to put down - very honest and not filled with easy answers and cliches - a refreshing change !! I loved this book and the revealed journey of Sheridan and Merryn - you will too. If you have ever been disappointed with life events and wondered what it's all about, then I encourage you to read "Resurrection Year"

5

Jul 17, 2013

I have just had the pleasure of reading a story by Sheridan Voysey, entitled "Resurrection Year{". This story is filled with ups and downs and it also includes a journey from where both Sheridan and Merryn, his wife think they have their lives planned out. This is true of most people yet how much do we know what we should be doing in life.
"Resurrection Year" is a true story of just that type of journey with all the pitfalls and uplifting experiences and Sheridan and Merryn encounter. In the I have just had the pleasure of reading a story by Sheridan Voysey, entitled "Resurrection Year{". This story is filled with ups and downs and it also includes a journey from where both Sheridan and Merryn, his wife think they have their lives planned out. This is true of most people yet how much do we know what we should be doing in life.
"Resurrection Year" is a true story of just that type of journey with all the pitfalls and uplifting experiences and Sheridan and Merryn encounter. In the case of these tow people, they want to have a child or maybe several children, only to find out that normal conception and birth is going to be difficult to say the least. They decide on several episodes of IVF, again only to find out that this is not the option. Heartbroken and disoriented by the turn in their lives they must find a different direction in which to go.
Again, they do the route of adoption, only to find that this route to happiness is also prohibative. As you can see from these little insights into this story, that there is a lot going on here. How many times have any of us decided on what our lives would be like or what our career paths would be, without the counseltation of God? And when we do consult Him, how do we listen for the answer?
"Resurrection Year" is a must read. It is the true story as Sheridan and Merryn Voysey have lived it. You will find yourselves laughing, crying and rooting the outcomes beyond belief. At the end of the book, you will also find a Notes section where you will find compelling questions and Scripture notations for the chapters.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson/Booksneeze for the oportuniity to read and review this selection. I believe that it will soon become a best seller especially in the Christian realm. Sheridan Voysey, I'd like to thank you and your wife Merryn for allowing we readers to experience your lives. I loved the story and also the history of biblical times by allowing us to visit many places with you. As noted on your book cover,"...a gift that will breathe life and hope into many." ...more

4

Jul 05, 2013

Sheridan Voysey bares his life and shares an intimacy with readers that kept me turning the pages. It's billed as part memoir and part love story, and that's good marketing language (selling books is a good thing for an author!). What this book felt like to me, though, was a heart-to-heart conversation with an old friend.

I've never even heard of Sheridan Voysey before, so how can I feel like I should pray for him, thankful for the chance to have met him through his story? (Yes, I'm reading and Sheridan Voysey bares his life and shares an intimacy with readers that kept me turning the pages. It's billed as part memoir and part love story, and that's good marketing language (selling books is a good thing for an author!). What this book felt like to me, though, was a heart-to-heart conversation with an old friend.

I've never even heard of Sheridan Voysey before, so how can I feel like I should pray for him, thankful for the chance to have met him through his story? (Yes, I'm reading and listening to him now!)

Voysey takes what's become a far too common story of suffering and struggle and made it into more. It's not easy to read, but it's hard not to keep reading. Somehow, through the Voyseys' struggle with infertility, I caught a glimpse of myself, of my suffering, of my pain.

And I saw, thanks to the lens he gave me, that God is there. That God loves me. That there is hope.

It's not that I didn't know these things before, but that the discovery was so pleasant, which I know doesn't make any sense, given the topic. Voysey writes poetically, giving you a look at the raw struggle and the real tears. He doesn't leave out the laughs, the sacrifices, the unexpected.

I appreciated how this book made the topic of suffering applicable to all of us. Who doesn't relate with struggling through life? Who hasn't had some fist-shaking toward God? Who won't nod in at least part of this book?

And the concept of a Resurrection Year: oh, I could go on. In fact, maybe I should recommend the book just on that basis. I can think of a couple of people who have earned a Resurrection Year. I can think of times in my life when that was just what I needed: a time to rest in the Lord, to be gentle in my bounceback, to intentionally approach the world from a resurrection mindset.

This is a book I'll be sharing, as much for its topic as for its good writing. ...more

5

Apr 29, 2017

This is the kind of book that haunts you after you've read it. Though it centres on a story of infertility its essential nature is a book about broken dreams, and how we start again after those dreams have died - and for Christians, seeking to understand why some dreams are destined not to be fulfilled, and how we understand the purposes of God through this. At one point I found myself wondering why this book had not been written by Merryn, rather than Sheridan; as hers seemed to be the highest This is the kind of book that haunts you after you've read it. Though it centres on a story of infertility its essential nature is a book about broken dreams, and how we start again after those dreams have died - and for Christians, seeking to understand why some dreams are destined not to be fulfilled, and how we understand the purposes of God through this. At one point I found myself wondering why this book had not been written by Merryn, rather than Sheridan; as hers seemed to be the highest emotional stakes invested in the dream. But later I realised why it is Sheridan's story; he had to support Merryn all the way through the agonising years of hopes raised and dashed again and again. And finally it is this very book of his - inspired by the the sharp discernment of Adrian Plass - which symbolises the phoenix rising from the ashes. I recommend this book for anyone who has struggled with the whole area of dreams and disappointment and lost hope. And what exactly does it mean for "hope to spring eternal"? A brilliant, profound and very moving book. ...more

5

Jun 18, 2013

I found this book to be very interesting. It spoke to me concerning my own relationship with God. I found myself relating to both Sheridan and Merryn (Sheridan's wife). I know what the wilderness is, I have been there myself...more than once.

Sheridan's experiences helped me to see a different side of God, which I many not have clearly considered before as much as now. The book is set up in a way where the time keeps changing...it is past...it is past going forward...it is back in the past again. I found this book to be very interesting. It spoke to me concerning my own relationship with God. I found myself relating to both Sheridan and Merryn (Sheridan's wife). I know what the wilderness is, I have been there myself...more than once.

Sheridan's experiences helped me to see a different side of God, which I many not have clearly considered before as much as now. The book is set up in a way where the time keeps changing...it is past...it is past going forward...it is back in the past again. Even though the time kept changing, I felt so engaged in the story I was compelled to turn each page until my eyelids could no longer remain open. There is a lot of Biblical truths conveyed and talked about throughout this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sheridan's story (it even gave me inspiration at the end to share my own story) and would highly recommend this book to all.

BookSneeze® has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. ...more

5

Jun 11, 2013

As I began to read Resurrection Year by Sheridan Voysey, I already knew the outcome of the story. However, as I turned the page I remained ever-hopeful that there would be a ‘happy ending’, a twist in the story... My faith increased as I read, ever hopeful that the story would result in something positive.
And it did.
Ok so it wasn’t positive in the way that I had hoped for Sheridan and Merryn. But as a reader, an onlooker, I was able to come away with a positive.
Resurrection Year is achingly As I began to read Resurrection Year by Sheridan Voysey, I already knew the outcome of the story. However, as I turned the page I remained ever-hopeful that there would be a ‘happy ending’, a twist in the story... My faith increased as I read, ever hopeful that the story would result in something positive.
And it did.
Ok so it wasn’t positive in the way that I had hoped for Sheridan and Merryn. But as a reader, an onlooker, I was able to come away with a positive.
Resurrection Year is achingly transparent, beautifully written as you journey with Sheridan and Merryn, through physical, emotional and spiritual landscapes. It’s a courageous journey, starkly honest and very moving.
And in it, through their story, was birthed within me a realisation. Hope can be relinquished on things we desire. But hope itself never dies when faith is present.
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4

Apr 08, 2015

I love reading memoirs, especially spiritual memoirs, so I was very glad to come across Resurrection Year. This book is an authentic and moving account of the author and his wife's faith journeys through the "wilderness" of infertility. Although I enjoyed the book, I found myself struggling to finish it, because it dragged in parts. Also, I didn't like how the author jumped around in the time sequence, because I thought it made it hard to follow. Another reviewer used the word "disjointed" and I I love reading memoirs, especially spiritual memoirs, so I was very glad to come across Resurrection Year. This book is an authentic and moving account of the author and his wife's faith journeys through the "wilderness" of infertility. Although I enjoyed the book, I found myself struggling to finish it, because it dragged in parts. Also, I didn't like how the author jumped around in the time sequence, because I thought it made it hard to follow. Another reviewer used the word "disjointed" and I think that the memories being out of order did make it somewhat disjointed. Overall though, I would definitely recommend this book. The concept of a Resurrection Year is beautiful and can be applied to anyone recovering from a broken dream. ...more

5

May 27, 2013

Resurrection Year, what a wonderful book. It's very well written, and very easy to read, one of those books that are difficult to put down. It's written straight from the heart of 2 people desperately trying to achieve their dream, a dream that has been laid on the altar, a dream that's now been replaced with a new vision and vigour for what God will do. Sheridan and Merryn welcome you into their lives through each chapter, making you feel as if you are there with them right by their side, and Resurrection Year, what a wonderful book. It's very well written, and very easy to read, one of those books that are difficult to put down. It's written straight from the heart of 2 people desperately trying to achieve their dream, a dream that has been laid on the altar, a dream that's now been replaced with a new vision and vigour for what God will do. Sheridan and Merryn welcome you into their lives through each chapter, making you feel as if you are there with them right by their side, and where you will feel varying degrees of emotion as each page is turned. I very much recommend Resurrection Year, a book you could return to anytime for hope and encouragement.
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4

Nov 16, 2014

What do you do when your dream cannot come true? After 10 years of infertility -- including attempted adoption and IVF, Sheridan and his wife Merryn had to face this question. I am grateful for the ways this book will enhance larger conversations. I'm all for the story where it works out in the end (because God is in those too), but if those are the only stories we tell, we are not telling the whole truth. Near the end, Sheridan has a spectacular section on being in the wilderness. It alone was What do you do when your dream cannot come true? After 10 years of infertility -- including attempted adoption and IVF, Sheridan and his wife Merryn had to face this question. I am grateful for the ways this book will enhance larger conversations. I'm all for the story where it works out in the end (because God is in those too), but if those are the only stories we tell, we are not telling the whole truth. Near the end, Sheridan has a spectacular section on being in the wilderness. It alone was worth the book! And this line: "Perhaps a greater tragedy than a broken dream is a life forever defined by it." ...more

4

Jun 19, 2013

A must-read for anyone who has lived with infertility or any other kind of major disappointment/loss. Voysey does a lovely job speaking authentically about the pain of unfulfilled longings and broken dreams, along with the very real gift of God's grace through pain and the way that suffering can stimulate growth. It's a book that doesn't have a happy ending in the fairy-tale sense, but a very happy ending in the real-life learning-to-live-well-no-matter-what-life-brings sense.

5

May 27, 2013

I love reading about people's journeys and this is a heartbreaking journey with a lot of pain along the way. Infertility is a very difficult path to travel and not a subject that MEN readily talk about, so I really appreciated Sheridan being so vulnerable and sharing Merryn and his struggles. The honesty of wrestling with God on the Mountain and searching for answers, something I really identified with and found thought provoking. I think this book will be greatly used by God.

3

Feb 05, 2015

Voysey is apparently well-known in Australia as the host of a Christian radio talk show. After he and his wife struggled for ten years to have a child, they decided to leave everything behind and move to England for a new adventure. I empathized with their grief and frustration, and was encouraged by the hope they've found in the midst of disappointment.

4

Feb 07, 2015

I love the written form of contemplation and discussion of who God is in the midst of struggle. Those who seek will find. While I do not struggle with childlessness, there was plenty to be gleaned from this story that can relate to any wilderness journey that spans many agonizing years. It has helped me to settle a bit more into acceptance of some things.

4

Jun 06, 2013

the transparency with which the Voysey's share their pilgrimage of faith is at once tragic and poignant. One cannot help but to hope for and with them, grieve their loss and rejoice in their faith. Resurrection Year left me wanting more. To share a cup of coffee and hear more of what God is doing in and through them. Well done!

4

Mar 28, 2014

Although this book specifically deals with the grieving process following infertility, the lessons and struggle are applicable to any person mourning the death of a dream. In a very courageous and personal way, the author and his wife wrestle with their faith and question God over the details of His plan, fairness, free will, evil, and other thorny problems that are too easily brushed aside.

4

Jul 20, 2013

Many women have written books like this, but it's rare to read about infertility and family heartbreak from a husband's perspective. I loved the way they both asked questions of their faith, and came away stronger than ever.