The Morning Brew Book Review: BOX OF BUTTERFLIES by Roma Downey

Can Roma Downey, forever loved for her hit series "Touched by An Angel" and a leader in the faith-based television and film industry, also have the midas touch in the literary world?  Is her new book, "Box of Butterflies: Discovering the Unexpected Blessings All Around Us", worth opening?

If it has Roma Downey’s name on it, one has come to expect quality.  I am happy to report that this autobiography even exceeded my own high expectations.  It is due to be released on March 6, and throughout my read I kept thinking to myself what great timing it is for such a transformational book to go out into a world that is full of so much pain and need.  

 

"Box of Butterflies" is Roma’s testament to faith as tied into her personal journey through life.  The title refers to a joyous gift Roma received from her husband, Mark Burnett, who knew how special the butterfly is to Roma and what it has come mean to her over the years.  The butterfly is the perfect constant metaphor that mirrors Roma’s own life of highs and lows--while a creature that is ultimately admired and prized, it nonetheless endures humble beginnings as a caterpillar, faces and survives the dark of the cocoon, and must go through much struggle to emerge as a beautiful being that reaches for the sky in flight--such an existence reflects Roma’s own start in life during a grim chapter in Ireland’s recent history, her tragic sorrows, her disappointments and struggles as she drew strength from her beautiful, vibrant faith which continuously lifts her up and carries her.  

Roma doesn’t just recount her past; she bares her soul as she reveals deeply personal and painful moments, like when she lost each parent while still very young.  But Roma also describes how leaning on God and trusting Him sustained her.  As we all must go through such painful rites of passage, her story  actually achieves being life-changing for the reader—benefiting one with its guidance through familiar  tough times and its encouragement on surviving them.  As I read it, her relatable experiences touched upon many of my own memories, she has a way of making the reader feel as though he or she is a twin of fate.  I can’t recall ever having been so choked up as a reader with the range of emotional experiences Roma brings to life on each colorful page, while at the same time being incredibly edified in the faith by her wisdom and perseverance.

The biblical passages, poetry, artwork, and motivational adages all harmonize for maximum effect, deepening Roma’s narrative and adding layers of increased understanding and emotional attachment for the reader.  

The book contains a table of contents that identifies chapters comprised of various virtues and universal feelings, each section delving into that particular topic as reflected in Roma’s life and written in a way that we can all identify with or aspire for.

Della Reese & Roma Downey

On one especially sad note for this book, Roma’s former "Touched by an Angel" co-star and motherly friend, Della Reese, passed away before its release.  But not before she wrote the foreword for it, making this message all the more priceless.

While Roma Downey is an accomplished actress and producer, I can attest that her writing lives up to the same high caliber for the ability to connect, move, and entertain.  It is no coincidence that you do truly feel touched by an angel with this story!

The Morning Brew Book Review: THE BENEDICT OPTION by Rod Dreher

This recommended faith-based reading is not a pleasant perusal to go to bed by, but it amounts to a necessary wake-up call.

The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher (published by Penguin Random House LLC, 2017) is not relaxing and certainly not escapism; in fact, I found it to be downright disturbing.  

But, that's the point.  

By reading this book, you will learn about how cultural fates have come full circle and the perfect social-political-corporational storm has amassed to bring America to the brink of what the author calls "the Post-Christian Era".  Page after page, Dreher builds his case to prove that the diminishing Christian presence and practice here in the West is gasping from its greatest existential threat--one that even surpasses the Dark Ages.  

When I read this book last year, it was the first time I had seen such a harsh description of the state of Christianity in America today.  But instead of losing heart and abandoning the book, I found it all very relatable--not only now the dwindling of church attendance, but also the headlines of the growing legal and corporate threats to anyone trying to live by biblical standards in our schools and at the workplace.  And for what I hadn't understood before, the alliance of the social-political-corporational forces at work against Christianity, the author provided useful analysis and context.  

Dreher describes this Christian crisis in time and what it means for those of us who care.  His candor is refreshing and even relieving.  He further dives into how we blindly arrived at this point, causes that even predate America's existence as a nation.  Dreher identifies and expounds upon the following turning points:

* The 14th century's loss of belief in the integral connection between God & creation
* The 16th century's collapse of religious unity/authority in the Protestant Reformation
* The 18th century's Enlightenment, displacing the Christian religion with the cult of Reason
* The 18th-20th century's Industrial Revolution 
* The 20th century to present's Sexual Revolution

Dreher's historic research is impressive and vast.  All of it leads to the climatic question: Where do we go from here?

Dreher then lays out his book's namesake strategy for rebounding (or shall we say, reinventing) our position in society for the sake of the survival of practicing our beliefs.  Not surprisingly, it calls for the formation of isolated societies which instantly brought to my mind how the Amish have endured for so long.

It is that strategy, one that the author calls the Benedict Option, for which the book is titled and that is named for St. Benedict who during the Dark Ages incorporated this same idea for the survival of Christianity during that period.  In fact, Dreher reports on his visits to the monastery of St. Benedict in Norcia and interviewing the monks there to add to this blueprint.

As the reader starts to mull over this new yet ancient theory on using counter-culture and what form it would even take in present day America, Dreher offers up certain examples of efforts already underway in this country but which are on a much smaller scale; scattered seeds bearing some blossoms as proof of the ideology's possibility and viability.

But can such seeds be enough to eventually take root to grow into the force needed to save Christianity in America?  

Either the last chapter has yet to be written to confirm its call for action, or there is an entire sequel waiting to unfold in response.  In either case, The Benedict Option is a must-read to explore how course-changing historical events have pooled together to produce waves that threaten to reach beyond us and well into the future to completely drown out Christianity.  This book is the tsunami warning.  The take-away for each reader is to decide which option represents the highest and firmest ground to grab onto.   

The Morning Brew Book Review: THE SECRET CHORD by Geraldine Brooks

Welcome to the Christian Coffee Clutch's first edition of "The Morning Brew Book Review"!

Introduction

Although I am an Orthodox Christian and this blog is primarily for Christian camaraderie, nonetheless with the commonalities and crossovers of other major religions there is certainly a place at this table for all people of faith and even for those just curious about religion in general.  I see such diversity as a strength for connecting, not a weakness of ambiguity.  Our coffee clutch is not really about pushing pluralism, it is more about the awe of discovery.  I have found that during my own interfaith dialogue experiences, not only did I learn about another person’s faith beliefs while they also learned something about mine, I unintentionally ended up reaping an increased knowledge about my own religion.  At such times, when my counterpart brought up a point that I had not considered or did not know much about, I would say to myself, “That’s interesting!  I wonder what my own religion’s approach is to that very same point?”  I would then go back to my Orthodox Christian sources and gain the benefit of being further schooled.

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks 

Hits the High Note

Such was the fascination I felt and rewarding education I obtained as an Orthodox Christian reading Geraldine Brook’s The Secret Chord (published by Viking - An imprint of Penguin Ran House LLC, 2015).  This is a story about the life of the Old Testament's King David as seen through the eyes of his court prophet, Nathan.  However, it is not the Christian Old Testament account of King David's story, but rather in this version Ms. Brooks follows what has been recorded about David’s life as revealed in Jewish sources which include the Tanakh and the Talmud.   I had much appreciation for the obvious research Ms. Brooks did to construct the foundation of her story about this consequential point in ancient times, which makes for a must-read for any true lover of history no matter if that reader is a practitioner of any religion or even one who practices no religion at all.

While there exists no source that supplies solid and thorough information about David’s complete life story, Ms. Brooks took the numerous informational dots she had collected and connects them with the blending in of her own unique created brand of entertainment.  Her story is a captivating—and just as important, plausible—rendition of describing events like the violent battles, or even of a horrific rape, in disturbing graphic detail.  She also paints each scene in her own poetic style to add vibrancy to the historic story settings. Ms. Brooks also craftily reveals critical character motivation even for the most controversial figures (David being chief among them) along with their page-turning development.  All of these components work together to unfold her own exclusive and plausible story of David in its entirety.   For historical fiction in general and biblical historical fiction in specific, plausibility is key.  Ms. Brooks leaves the reader feeling that it all really could have happened that way.

Naturally, there are moments in “The Secret Chord” that are not in line with my own faith’s beliefs.  One example being that Orthodox Christianity does not officially hold the view that there existed a homosexual relationship between David and Jonathan.  This is not due to homophobia or heterophobia as Orthodox Christianity does not preach either; there is just no supporting evidence found in our scripture for it.  Even in David’s Song of Lamentation the language describing their relationship is interpreted as a powerful profession of love and grief with no explicit sexual suggestion.  Whether by reason of doctrine or dramatic license, Ms. Brooks’ story took a different view on this as well as some other points, but none of which interferes with nor detracts from the enjoyment of her story. 

Another layer of interest I found is a personal one.  I, too, albeit as someone with a different faith prospective but as someone who shares Ms. Brooks’ passion for David’s story, have authored a book about David and Michal, "CONDEMNATION: The Calamity of Israel's First Crown" which will be published by Archway, a division of Simon & Schuster, and made available in 2018.  Given Michal’s tragic life, along with how women were characterized and treated, David and Michal’s story is not an easy one to write for any female of today’s world.  As such, it was especially interesting for me as a female to see another woman’s take not just on the tragedy of Michal, but also on the belittlement of women evident in the treatment of them as well as additionally showcased in the amount of polygamy that occurred.  There is also the challenge of considering the justification for the excessive amount of  bloodshed, of the innocent along with the guilty.  I found it refreshing that Ms. Brooks did not gloss over such subjects but approached each of them by tactfully opening the door to some healthy debate, acknowledging the complexity while even offering critique.

While I have constructed a very different angle on the lives of David and Michal in my upcoming book, I have aimed to also achieve the same entertaining plausibility that Ms. Brooks has accomplished.  And I hope to attract a diversity in readership that “The Secret Chord” has proven, as I have attested to, is possible.