Friday, June 29, 2012

Fearless by Eric Blehm

Fearless was provided to me free of charge by Waterbrook Multnomah for review purposes. I must admit, when the book arrived, it sat for a few days as I decided whether or not I had the stomach to read it. Knowing from the dust jacket that the strong, young Navy SEAL on the cover had lost his life in battle made for the difficult choice. Did I really want to get to know this man, his family, his friends, his struggles and triumphs of life, knowing the outcome before I even began? Then, if I did read it, would I be able to write an unbiased review, or would I feel like I had to write "nice things" so as not to offend the family left behind? Flipping a coin seemed like a cop-out, so I did the next best thing. I decided that I would read the first chapter, see how I fared, and then make my choice.

Chapter one quickly turned into two, then three, then a night of unending reading as I did find myself pulled into the story of Adam Brown's life.  The author did a beautiful job of introducing the reader to Adam and his family. It wasn't always easy to experience the joys and triumphs of his life, remembering the loss that lay at the end of the book.  The good news is that there is much to learn between the pages about persevering in all situations.  Some of Adam's trials were so great that they seemed they could not possibly be overcome, but God is faithful.  Through the many phases of Adam's life, you can see God's hand in everything that happened.  It's a rare look at life from the other end.

I greatly appreciated the chance to get to know Adam Brown through the eyes of his family and friends.  I found it to be a fitting tribute to an American hero, as well as a reminder to all of us that life is brief. How do you want to remembered when someone writes your story? And when they read it, will they see God in the pages?